Chaga
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is a parasitic fungus that forms a hard, black, clinker-like sterile conk on the trunk of living birch trees across boreal and cold-temperate forests. The conk, not a fruiting mushroom, is broken from the trunk by hand with an axe or wedge, cleaned of loose bark and wood, cut or broken into chunks, and air- or kiln-dried. The dried chunk is sold whole for infusion, or milled and solvent- or hot-water-extracted for powders and extracts used in teas, tinctures, functional beverages and nutraceutical supplement manufacture. There is no ISO or national standard grade for chaga at origin; the trade runs on wild-harvest provenance claims, informal chunk/powder presentation, and laboratory assay of the compounds that carry its functional-food value.
Listed chaga markets
Each line is a grade at a delivery point. Open one for its full specification and terms.
Grades
Chaga has no ISO or national product standard. It is graded informally on physical presentation (conk versus outer-bark contamination, chunk size, moisture) and, where a buyer requires it, on laboratory assay of beta-glucan/polysaccharide content, betulin and betulinic acid content (birch-derived triterpenes the fungus concentrates from its host tree), heavy metals and microbiological limits.
Presentation and physical condition
6 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Conk purityDeclared, maximum percentage of outer birch bark and wood by mass | The conk's black outer crust and sclerotium are the traded material; adhering bark and wood are contamination and are weighed after separation. |
| Chunk sizeMillimetres, or over a stated sieve aperture | Contracted where a buyer needs uniformity for milling or a defined chunk grade for loose-leaf infusion sale. |
| Whole conk versus broken chunkDeclared | The physical presentation contracted for; whole unbroken conks and pre-broken chunks are both traded. |
| MoistureMaximum percentage by mass | Determined by loss-on-drying. Wild conks are harvested with high native moisture and must be dried to a stable storage moisture before export. |
| Mould and insect damageMaximum percentage by mass | Weighed after hand separation. |
| Extraneous matterMaximum percentage by mass | Stones, other wood species, soil and any material other than chaga conk. |
Analytical requirements
7 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Beta-glucan / polysaccharide contentPercentage by mass | The principal functional-food value driver. A dedicated beta-glucan (mushroom/yeast) assay is a commercially available named test at, among others, Medallion Labs in the US. |
| Betulin and betulinic acid contentPercentage by mass, by HPLC | Birch-derived triterpenes the fungus concentrates from its host tree; a distinguishing marker of genuine wild birch-grown chaga versus other substrates. |
| MoistureMaximum percentage by mass | Determined by loss-on-drying. |
| Total ashMaximum percentage by mass | A check on mineral/soil contamination. |
| Heavy metalsMilligrams per kilogram, lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury | Determined by ICP-MS/ICP-OES. Wild fungi are efficient heavy-metal accumulators, so this is a standing requirement for any wild-harvested chaga lot, not an optional add-on. |
| Microbiological limitsColony forming units per gram, and absence of Salmonella in a stated mass | Contracted to destination market limits. |
| Wild-harvest and organic certificate chain-of-custodyDeclared, verified against the certifying body's registration | Where an organic or wild-harvest certification (for example Ecocert Canada) is claimed, verified back to the certifying body and the specific harvest-partner network named on the certificate. |
Grades outside this list trade on request. Send us the contract specification you work to and we will price against it.
Locations
| Country | Region | We trade it as |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | North America | Origin, including the New Brunswick and Quebec boreal birch belt (CA-NB, CA-QC) |
| Russia | Eastern Europe / Siberia | Origin |
| Finland | Northern Europe | Origin, including managed/certified birch-forest chaga programs |
| United States | North America | Origin and destination |
| Germany | Europe | Destination |
| Netherlands | Europe | Destination |
| United Kingdom | Europe | Destination |
Origins and destinations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown here.
Timing
Harvest is when the crop is taken at origin. Arrival is when a shipment from that origin typically lands in a consuming market. The gap between them is drying, processing and the voyage.
HarvestArrival
| Origin | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Harvest | Harvest and arrival | Arrival | Arrival | Harvest | Harvest Dec to Feb, arrival Feb to AprNew Brunswick wild chaga is harvested in a narrow winter window, specifically documented as including late January, because melanin/antioxidant concentration peaks during the coldest months and winter harvest lets remaining conks continue maturing through the rest of the year (a sustainability practice among named NB/QC harvesters). Arrival window is a modeled estimate covering drying, processing and ocean transit; no named source confirmed a specific export-to-arrival lag this session. |
Windows outside this pattern trade on request, including stock already sitting in a destination warehouse.
Common questions
What grades of chaga does SIP Global trade?
We quote 12 published grades of chaga, including Conk purity - Declared, maximum percentage of outer birch bark and wood by mass, Chunk size - Millimetres, or over a stated sieve aperture, Whole conk versus broken chunk - Declared, Moisture - Maximum percentage by mass, Mould and insect damage - Maximum percentage by mass and Extraneous matter - Maximum percentage by mass. Every grade is tied to a delivery point and a settlement route. Grades outside the published list are priced on request.
How is chaga graded?
Chaga has no ISO or national product standard. It is graded informally on physical presentation (conk versus outer-bark contamination, chunk size, moisture) and, where a buyer requires it, on laboratory assay of beta-glucan/polysaccharide content, betulin and betulinic acid content (birch-derived triterpenes the fungus concentrates from its host tree), heavy metals and microbiological limits. Grading runs on 2 systems: Presentation and physical condition and Analytical requirements.
Where does SIP Global trade chaga?
We trade chaga in Canada, Russia, Finland, United States, Germany, Netherlands and United Kingdom. Origins and destinations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown.
When is chaga harvested and when does it arrive?
Typical windows are Canada: harvest dec to feb, arrival feb to apr. Harvest is when the lot is taken at origin, arrival is when a shipment from that origin lands in a consuming market. Windows outside this pattern, including carry, trade on request.
How do I get a price for chaga?
Send the grade, the origin and the delivery window to the SIP Global desk. That is enough for a trader to come back with a level and a settlement route. 1 listed chaga market is published on this page, each with its full specification and terms. We take both sides, physical and financial, prompt to long dated.
Standards and data sources
The grading language on this sheet follows published standards. Trade volumes and tariff lines are public record. Verify anything here against the source.
- ISOInternational Organization for Standardization
- UN ComtradeOfficial international trade statistics by HS code
- ITC Trade MapBilateral trade flows and tariff data
- FAOSTATFAO production and trade series for agricultural commodities
Price this with our desk
Grade, origin and window if you have them. If what you are carrying does not fit the sheet above, describe it in your own words and a trader will take it from there.