What is kratom? The plant, where it comes from, and how it reaches Canada

Kratom is the dried, powdered leaf of Mitragyna speciosa, a tree in the coffee family that grows across Southeast Asia. Almost all of the kratom sold in Canada is leaf powder grown in Indonesian Borneo, dried and ground there, and shipped in bulk to Canadian vendors who repack it. This guide covers the plant, where the Canadian supply actually comes from, and the regulatory situation in the producing countries, with sources. It is a reference, not advice: nothing here tells you whether or how to use kratom.

Last reviewed: November 9, 2026. Part of the KratomSource knowledge base.

The plant

Mitragyna speciosa (Korth.) Havil. is an evergreen tree in the Rubiaceae, the same botanical family as coffee and cinchona. In the wild it reaches 15 to 25 metres, with large, glossy, oval leaves that can be the size of a hand, arranged in opposite pairs. The genus name honours the mitre-like shape of its flower heads; the species is native to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea, where it grows in wet lowland forest and along riverbanks and tolerates periodic flooding. The leaf is the only part of commercial interest.

Leaves contain a mix of indole alkaloids, more than 40 identified, dominated by mitragynine, which typically makes up around 1–2% of dried leaf weight and roughly two-thirds of the total alkaloid content. 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), the alkaloid regulators focus on, is present in leaf only in trace amounts, well under 0.05% in most analyses, and is formed mainly in the body as a metabolite of mitragynine. Other alkaloids include paynantheine, speciogynine and speciociliatine. The alkaloid profile varies with the tree’s age, growing conditions, harvest timing and how the leaf is dried. Our pharmacology guide covers what these compounds do.

Traditional context

Fresh leaves have been chewed or brewed as tea by farm and manual labourers in Thailand and Malaysia for at least two centuries, with the first Western botanical description in the 1830s. In that setting the leaf was used fresh or lightly dried, not as a fine powder, and in amounts set by local custom. The dried, powdered, bagged product sold online in North America is a different thing from the traditional one in form, dose uniformity and supply chain, which is one reason the modern safety questions are open.

Where Canadian kratom comes from

Indonesia supplies the overwhelming majority of the world’s exported kratom, and within Indonesia the centre of production is West Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo, particularly the Kapuas Hulu regency along the Kapuas River. Smallholder farmers there grow the trees, often on land that previously produced rubber or along flood-prone riverbanks where few other crops survive. Harvested leaves are sold to local collectors and processors who dry, grind and bag the powder, then to exporters who ship it in 20–25 kg sacks, mostly to the United States, with Canada and Europe as secondary markets.

Every Canadian vendor in our rankings is, in practice, an importer and repacker of this Indonesian powder. The strain names on their bags (Bali, Borneo, Maeng Da and so on) are applied at the processing or marketing stage and do not reliably indicate a distinct origin; see our strains guide. What differs between vendors is sourcing relationships, storage, handling, and whether anyone tests the powder after it is ground, which is what our lab programme measures.

Indonesia’s export rules

For years the trade ran in a grey zone: legal to export, discouraged domestically, with Indonesia’s narcotics agency (BNN) pushing for a ban. In September 2024 the Ministry of Trade issued two regulations that formally recognize and regulate kratom as an export commodity. Exports must now meet standards for microbiological contamination, heavy metals and adulteration, and the rules set permitted product types and sizes (raw leaf and certain unprocessed forms are restricted in favour of value-added powder). The regulations apply to exports only and do not authorize domestic use, which BNN continues to advise against pending research.

For Canadian buyers the significance is this: the raw material entering Canada is, since late 2024, supposed to have passed an exporter-side contamination standard. Whether it did, and whether it stayed clean through grinding, shipping and repacking, is exactly what a certificate of analysis on the finished bag shows and a sourcing claim does not.

Status in the other producing countries

• Thailand criminalized kratom in 1943, in part to protect opium tax revenue, listed it as a Category 5 narcotic in 1979, then removed it from the Narcotics Act in August 2021 and passed a Kratom Plant Act in 2022 that permits cultivation and sale with age limits and labelling rules. Thai leaf is now legally exportable, though Indonesia still dominates volume.
• Malaysia controls kratom under the Poisons Act 1952; possession and sale are offences, but traditional use persists in the northern states and enforcement is uneven.
• Myanmar treats kratom as a controlled substance.
• Indonesia permits cultivation and export under the 2024 rules; domestic marketing for consumption remains discouraged.

How it reaches a bag in Canada

Harvest, de-stemming, drying, grinding and sieving happen in Indonesia; our processing guide walks through each step and where contamination can enter. Bulk powder is exported by sea or air freight, cleared into Canada as a botanical, and repacked by the vendor into retail sizes from 25 g to 1 kg. Canadian vendors sell it labelled as a botanical not for human consumption because Health Canada has never authorized a kratom product as a natural health product; our legal guide explains that status.

Sources

• Kruegel AC, Grundmann O. The medicinal chemistry and neuropharmacology of kratom: a preliminary discussion of a promising medicinal plant and analysis of its potential for abuse. Neuropharmacology. 2018;134(Pt A):108–120. PubMed 28830758.
• Antara News, Indonesia officially regulates kratom trade, 9 September 2024 (Ministry of Trade regulations on export standards and permitted product forms).
• Hukumonline, Indonesian policy on kratom exports further streamlined, 2024.
• Tempo, Indonesia implements regulations for kratom export trade, 2024.
• Thailand: Narcotics Act amendment removing kratom from Category 5, in force 24 August 2021; Kratom Plant Act B.E. 2565 (2022).
• Malaysia: Poisons Act 1952, Third Schedule (mitragynine).

Frequently asked questions

What plant is kratom?

Kratom is the dried leaf of Mitragyna speciosa, an evergreen tree in the coffee family (Rubiaceae) native to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea.

Where does the kratom sold in Canada come from?

Almost all of it is grown in West Kalimantan province on the Indonesian side of Borneo, dried and ground there, exported in bulk sacks, and repacked by Canadian vendors.

Is kratom legal to grow and export in Indonesia?

Yes. Since September 2024 Indonesia's Ministry of Trade formally regulates kratom as an export commodity with contamination standards. Domestic use is still discouraged by its narcotics agency.

What are the main alkaloids in kratom leaf?

Mitragynine, typically 1–2% of dry weight and about two-thirds of total alkaloids, plus paynantheine, speciogynine and speciociliatine. 7-hydroxymitragynine is present only in trace amounts in natural leaf.