Part Two

A –B DIRECTORY OF COMMODITIES

ABACA (also known as manila hemp)

Musa textiles

Production

Abaca is a native of the Phillipines but it is grown in other tropical countries including India, Ethopia, Indonesia, Ecusdor and other Central American countries.

Total production is in the order of 100,000 tonnes per year, 90 per cent of which is in the Philippines.

Grades

The Filipino grading system uses codes to denote quality judged by colour, strength, lustre, cleanliness and fineness, and this depends on how near the core of the stem of the plant the fibre is taken and what care is taken to extract it.  The most commonly exported grade is called I/S2, which is fibre taken from a broadish band between the core and the bark.  The more specific grades are notated as letters or couples of letters.  The codes used for the higher grades are nearer A in the alphabet and go from E/F to M.  Of these, G is the next most important export grade.

Uses

Abaca is used to make high-quality ropes.  Its resistance to salt water makes it a favoured fibre for ropes and cords for sea-going vessels.  It is also used as a backing for carpets.  Abaca maintains its strength when wet and, for this reason, paper containing about 40 per cent is used to make tea bags.  The UK is a major market for abaca and approximately 80 per cent of abaca imported into the UK is used for tea bag manufacture.

Consumption

Most abaca is consumed in the regions in which it is produced.

Production method

Abaca is grown commercially in plantations.  The fibre is obtained from the stem of the plant, which is related to the banana.  The plant grows best in wet areas of the tropics, especially in volcanic soils. It takes two years to mature and stems are harvested regularly from the same plant.  Is normally replanted after about 13 years.  The fibres are extracted mechanically or by hand.  They must be dried either artificially or in the sun.

Main market features

When the Japanese captured the Philippines during the Second World War and cut all exports of abaca to the Allies, the US government instituted a crash programme to replace all its needs from locally grown true hemp.  This story serves to illustrate that, although Manila hemp has certain useful physical and market characteristics (not least its price), it is competing with other natural fibres as well as with synthetic fibres.  For this reason there can be no expectation of better prices for the foreseeable future.

Prices

In 1995, the market of grade I/S2 Filippino abaca, cif Europe, was US$1700 per tonne.  Grade G was trading at US$1500 per tonne.  The price for these two grades had risen from US$1560 and US$1360 respectively in 1992.

AJWAIN

Carum copticum

The ajwain seed is becoming a little more well known outside the Indian subcontinent where it is grown and where it is used as a spice to flavour curries, bread and other foods.  The seed, which is the fruit of a small shrub, tastes like a combination of anise, oregano and black pepper and smells like thyme.

In 1995, a 300g pack of ajwain seed was retailing in London at 1.80 pounds.

ALLSPICE (Also known as pimento)

Pimenta dioica

Allspice is the round seed of a tree which grown in the Americas, principally in the Caribbean region.  Jamaica is by far the biggest producer with about 60 percent of world output.  Other Central American countries, notably Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and to a much lesser extent Belize, are gaining a larger share of the market.

Total world trade amounts to about 4500 tonnes per year.  In 1982 UNCTAD recommended more cooperation between producers to avoid overproduction and low prices.  The price in 1995 was only as high as it had been in 1976.

The allspice tree needs rainfall of over 2 meters a year.  It reaches maturity in five to six years and reaches a maximum yield in about 15 years.  The fruit is harvested in an immature state and dried in the sun or artificially before being winnowed and graded.

The spice gets its name from the belief that it has an aroma resembling a combination of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.  It is used extensively in Caribbean cooking and more widely, in pickling.

The regular Jamaican grade is described as being ‘fanned and fumigated, 8 mm sieve’.  Its price is set by the government based on demand.

Prices

Jamaican cif US$ per tonne:

1991 – 2450, 1992 – 2500, 1993 – 2400, 1994 – 2200, 1995 – 2300

ALOE

Aloe vera

Of the many different spices of this cactus-like plant, Aloe vera has the most important commercial use as a drug and in cosmetics.  Aloe will grow in poor soil, it is salt tolerant and needs little water.  It is a permanent crop and some plants are said to be over 100 years old.  It is grown mostly in and around the Caribbean.

The plants are harvested by cutting off the large outside leaves and splitting them.  The bitter juice is collected and then usually sun dried into a yellow brow mass known as ‘crude aloes’.  This product has purifying qualities and refined solutions of it are widely used as a laxative.

The residual leaf contains a white gel, known as ‘aloe gel’, which has found uses as a moisturiser in cosmetics and as a balm for wounds and burns.

Aloes are a suitable crop for smallholders as there is very little need for capital input for harvesting or extraction.  Further refining of the product usually takes place in consuming countries, however.

There is also a very small international trade in the fresh plant which is usually sold to ethnic communities in developed countries who extract the juice for medical purposes.

In 1995 the wholesale price in London of concentrated aloe vera solution containing 40 parts of aloe vera to one part of water was about US$50 per kilo.

AMBA HALDI (Also known as mango ginger)

A root vegetable similar in appearance to turmeric.  The fresh root is used very much in the same way that dried turmeric is used in the colouring of soups.

It has some use as a mild treatment for skin complaints and urinary infections.

It is exported from India and Malaysia.

AMBRETTE SEED

Hibiscus abelmoshus

The clear yellow oil extracted from the seeds of this plant from the hibiscus family is used as a flavouring for drinks and confectionery.  It is said to have an odour similar to musk and is used in perfumery.

The seeds are grown in Egypt, Arabia and Martinique and exported from Ecuador.

ANNATTO SEED

Bixa orellana

Production

There are no authoritative world statistics for annatto production, but annual international trade has probably grown from about 2000 tonnes in 1970 to about 7000 tonnes in mid – 1990s.  Peru is the largest exporter, supplying perhaps 2000 tonnes annually.  The other major producers are Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Colombia, Kenya, Sri Lanka and India.  It is produced in smaller quantities in Nicaraqua, Pakistan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Tanzania Malawi and Angola.

Jamaica, with the reputation of producing the very best annatto, for reasons possibly to do with labour costs has reduced production over the last decade.

Grades

The main trade is still in annatto seed, but some producing countries (notably India) are increasingly exporting processed annatto products which not only sell at higher prices but also, being less bulky than seed, save freight costs.

The seed and processed annatto products are sold on the basis of the content of the essential chemical ingredients, bixin or norbixin, in the seed.  Jamaican seed containing about 3 per cent bixin, for instance, is about twice as valuable as some Indian seed with less than 2 per cent.  Caribbean seed also has a greater red, rather than yellow, component in the dye, which adds to the value.

There are two main processed products.  One of these is produced by placing the seed pulp in water.  In this process the water-soluble component of the dye, nor bixin, dissolves in the water and can be recovered as a powder by drying the solution.  This product contains 30 to 40 per cent nor bixin.  The other is produced by using a non-aqueous solvent and contains about 90 per cent of the full form of the active ingredient, bixin.

Uses

Most annatto is used in a single industry – for the colouring of cheese.  It is an extremely strong dye.  One ounce of a 1 per cent solution of the active ingredient is sufficient to colour 1000 ibs of cheese.  For this use, the water soluble component of the dye, nor bixin is used.  For colouring more fatty products like peanut butter, bixin in a vegetable oil solution or suspension is usually used.  Bixin crystals are used for colouring some types of food but mainly they have non-food uses.  Crude annatto pastes are used to colour maggots for anglers.

Annatto is used in the cosmetics industry in lipsticks and rouges.  In many producing countries annatto has various medicinal uses.  It is also used for dyeing leather.

Consumption

Most annatto is probably used in the countries where it is produced.

The USA is by far the largest importer of annatto products, followed by Europe (in which Britain is the biggest importer and Denmark is the biggest processor).

Production method

Annatto is the pulpy mass surrounding the seed of the achiote tree.  According to Intermediate Technology, annatto is a very suitable cash crop for smallholders and farmers’ cooperatives all over the tropics, as it can be efficiently produced on a fairly small scale.

The pods containing the seeds are dried in the sun for between two and four days to prevent the seeds going mouldy.  (Annattto is light sentive and too much exposure to direct sunlight must be avoided, as this will reduce the pigment content.)  Traditionally annatto is threshed and winnowed by hand but this is a very labour intensive job.  Appropriate Technology International has developed simple dehusking/winnowing machine which costs around US$300.

The dye can be removed from the seeds in a fairly simple process involving the soaking of the seed in alkaline solution and then, after some days, precipitating the dye with the addition of acid.  The dye in paste form is then dried and crushed to powder.

The achiote tree begins to fruit after two years and can be expected to produce crops for about 12 years.

Annatto seed is usually packed in polypropylene-lined hessian sacks.

Main market features

The volume of production of this important food colouring has changed appreciably since the Second World War various synthetic colorants were developed which reduced consumption dramatically.  After 1970, however, research suggested that some of these synthetic products might be carcinogenic and, in 1990, the USA banned Red Dye No 3, the main synthetic substitute for annatto.

Annatto has benefited from the trend towards natural products especially in food additives, but its market is very fickle.  In the mid-1990s the closure of a producer in Kenya and poor weather in Peru two of the most important producing countries, caused a shortage of annatto which drove the price to very high levels.  The price of a 30 per cent bixin concentrate increased from about US$25 per kilo in 1994 to US$65 in 1995.  Traders in annatto are worried about high prices and believe that this will encourage the use of the synthetic substitute beta-carotene as a food dye.

The future of some uses of annatto is in doubt for reasons other than price, however.  In 1994 the EU set new limits on the use of annatto products.  From 1995 annatto can only be used in Europe in cheese, margarine, edible ices, decorations and coatings, liqueurs, smoked fish and breakfast cereals.  Its use in sauces and seasonings is banned.  Some third-world farmers are suggesting that this directive has no scientific justification and that it will mainly benefit the powerful European producers of beta-carotene.  It is very unlikely that annatto producers will be able to afford to challenge the directive, however, since the estimated cost of doing so is US$1 million.

The USA has no limits on what products annatto can be used in. some concern over the safe use of solvents in production is likely to favour the water-soluble norbixin rather than bixin products.

This industry, on which many tropical farmers depend, clearly needs a well-funded scientific study on safety and a period of long-term stability at prices which will satisfy both producers and consumers.

Prices

Annatto seed prices increased from about US$7 per kilo in 1994 to about US$15 per kilo in 1995.

ARROWROOT

Maranta arundinacea

The rhizomes of this plant contain an edible starch, which is eaten widely in the West Indies, South-East Asia and South Africa.

Arrowroot can grow to about 2 meters in height and is propagated from the tips of the rhizomes.  When the leaves have started to wilt, 10 to 12 months after planting, it is dug up, its rhizomes removed, peeled and grated in water.  The resultant powder is dried but later purified again by several more washings.  The product is almost pure starch.  It is used as a thickener for soups, sauces and puddings, especially custards.  It is especially easy to digest and is, therefore, used in baby foods and diets for invalids.

In 1995 in the UK, arrowroot powder retailed at about US$0.5 per ounce.

ASAFOROETIDA (also known as devil’s dung)

Ferula foetida

Asafoetida is a seasoning powder made from the milky resin obtained from the roots of a plant related to fennel.  It grows mainly in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and northern India.  The plant is dug up after four years and cut close to its roots.  The resin pours out and is placed in trays to dry in the sun.  This resin dries to a reddish-brown crystalline substance.  It is sold either in this solid, wax-like form or in the form of powder.

It is used as a condiment and as flavouring, mainly in curries, and when cooked its smell disappears.  The rest of the plant is used as a vegetable.

It is still used locally as a medicine and the treatment of intestinal gas.  It was once used more widely in the treatment of hysteria by the psychological influence of its disgusting smell.

Iran is said to produce the best asafoetida.  Its Super soft No 1 grade, which is pink to violet in colour, is marketed at a premium price.  Dark brown solid asafoetida was being marketed at US$13.95 per kilo cif Europe in early 1995.

ASPARAGUS

Asparagus officinalis

Mainly grown in temperate climates, asparagus is available all year in developed Northern countries.  It is normally packed in 3kg to 5kg boxes.  Tropical exporters include Mexico, Peru, Thailand, Ecaudor, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In early 1995 the wholesale price for Peruvian asparagus on the London market was 2.5 pound sterling per 1b.

AUBERGINE

Solanum melongena

Mainly grown in temperate climates, aubergins are most readily available in the autumn in developed Northern countries.  They are normally packed in 5kg boxes.  Tropical exporters include Gambia, Kenya, Egypt India and Jamaica.

In early 1995 the wholesale for Pakistani aubergines on the London market was 7.5 pound sterlings for a 5kg carton.

AVACADO OIL

Avocado pear trees produce more fruit than can be eaten or sold in many tropical areas.  They do not have long shelf life even if they are stored in cool conditions.  The production of oil from the pulp of damaged or surplus fruit could be a useful way of earning extra income from the crop.

Unfortunately there is, as yet, only a limited international market for the oil as a high price food oil (similar to but slightly inferior to olive oil), as an ingredient in cosmetics and as sunscreen oil.

Avocado oil is produced in Mexico, USA, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Israel and Kenya.

The 30 ft tree is usually propagated vegetatively.  It starts to bear fruit after 3 to 6 years and has a productive life of about 30 years.  For oil production the fruit is left to ripen completely.  It is then peeled, the stone removed and the flesh dried in the sun.  The flesh is then pulped or chopped.  The oil can be extracted in several ways, including boiling the pulp and skimming off the oil, using an expeller or by pressing and using centrifugal extraction.  The resulting oil can be refined by alkali refining, bleaching, deodorising and winterising (removing fats with low boiling points by cooling and filtering).

To prevent oxidation, the oil should be dried to achieve maximum moisture of 1 per cent.  The oil keeps in barrels for up to six months but can be extended to three years with the addition of vitamin A.

Prices for crude oil in 1993 were US$3 per kilo cif UK and US$4.5 per kilo for refined oil.

AVACADO PEAR

Persea Americana

1992 main avocado producers (thousands of tonnes)

Mexico                                                             785

USA                                                                155

Dominican Republic                                          130

Brazil                                                                120

Indonesia                                                          100

Colombia                                                           74

Peru                                                                   57

Israel                                                                  53

Spain                                                                  53

Venezuela                                                           53

World                                                              2052

Source: FAO estimates

Although avocados are mainly grown in warm temperate climates, they are grown so widely that they are available all year in developed countries.  They are normally packed 10 to 20 a box. 

Other tropical exporters include Gambia, Jamaica, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

In early 1995 the wholesale price for South Africa avocados on the London market was 5-pound sterlings for a 4 kg carton.

BABASSU

Orbignya martiama

The babassu palm is native to Amazonia and is cultivated there for its nut and especially for the oil extracted from the nut.  Brazil is the dominant producer.

The nut is contained in a thick husk, which is removed and used as animal feed.  The oil is extracted by crushing the extremely hard nut, boiling it in water and skimming the oil off the surface.  The oil is used in the region for cooking and soap making.

The tree takes about 12 years to mature and produces oil far less efficiently than African oil palms.  There has been some effort made to promote the oil as a ‘green’ tropical product, which has resulted in a little international trade.

In 1990 babassu oil was trading at US$727 per tonne ex Brazil.

BAGASSE

(See sugar)

Bagasse is a by-product of cane sugar production.  Sugar cane is crushed between rollers in the sugar mill to squeeze out the sugar-containing sap of the cane.  The fibrous remains of crushed cane are bagasse.

Sugar, of course, is very calorie rich and there are sufficient traces of sugar left in the bagasse to make a powerful fuel.  Its most Important use is to fuel the sugar mill itself, which needs power to turn the crushing equipment, heat the sugar solutions, run conveyor belts, etc.  But bagasse can be used to fuel local, small to medium-sized electricity plants.

Bagasse is a dirty, bulky waste product which cannot be used economically outside its area of generation if high handling and transport costs are involved.  For this reason local plants are sometimes set up to make use of it.  It can, for instance, be used to make cellulose, animal feed, building board and/or acoustic tiles.  There is no incentive to trade the material internationally.

Its main non-fuel use is for the production of paper, especially in countries which are short of wood, such as in the Middle East and some areas of Latin America.

Its value at any location or time is completely arbitrary and depends on the accounting practice of the sugar plant in question.

Manikara bidentata

Balata is the rubbery gum extracted from the tall bully tree which grows in Guyana and the West Indies.

Balata has many similar and some less useful properties as gutta-percha, which is itself under severe competition in its few uses from synthetic substances.  It is hard, inelastic, tough and leathery but contains some resin which makes it (unlike gutta-percha) useless for electrical insulation.  It is used for machine belts and for covering very high-quality golf balls.

The latex is tapped up to three times a year from the 40-metre tall tree by cutting zigzag gashes in the bark and collecting the latex in a cup.  The latex coagulates on exposure to air and must be dried before use.

The value of the latex is about US$40 per kilo.

BALSAM

Tolu – Myroxylon balsamum     Peru – Myroxylon pereirae

Balsam is a word used to describe substances derived from a wide variety of plants and trees.

The two types of natural balsam of commercial value produced in tropical regions are balsam of Peru and balsam of Tolu.

Balsam of Peru is a thick, deep brown; fragnant aromatic resin derived as exudates of a small tree, and is used as incense and as fixative in perfumes.  It is also added to a wide range of confectionery for its pleasant aromatic odour and its rather bitter taste.  It is used medicinally to remove scabs and for the treatment of ulcers.  It is produced in Peru but also in EL Salvador and Sri Lanka.

Balsam of Tolu is darker and thicker than balsam of Peru and is also used in perfumery as well as in hair conditioners.  This balsam also has mild antiseptic properties, and is used in cough syrups and lozenges.  This word ‘balm’ is a shortened version of balsam.

It is produced commercially in equatorial South America, especially in Colombia and Bolivia.

Prices

Peru cif Europe,pound sterling per kilo.

1991 – 8.05, 1992 – 10.92, 1993 – 9.62, 1994 – 9.62, 1995 – 8.98.

Tolu cif Europe, pound sterling per kilo.

1991 – 7.96, 1992 – 7.92, 1993 – 7.85, 1994 – 7.62, 1995 – 7.83.

BAMBARA GROUNDNUT (also known as earth nut)

Voandzeia subterranean

The bambara groundnut is an edible legume, which is widely grown in Africa and, to a lesser extent, in southern Asia, Australia and Latin America.

The most important producer is Nigeria followed by Burkina Faso, Niger, Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast.  Annual production is around 300,000 tonnes but most production is consumed in the region where it is grown.  Some attempts have been made to use the nut in cattle feed in developed countries.

It is often grown in rotation with other crops such as cassava.  The plants, which are annuals and which come in many different verities, mature in about 100 days.  The nut grows in a round pod just below the surface of the soil.  They are uprooted by hand and set to dry in the sun before storing.

In sub-Saharan Africa the bambara groundnut is often grown as a subsistence crop – the third most important leguminous crop after cowpeas and groundnuts.  There has been a gradual drift from bambara cultivation towards groundnut cultivation, but the bambara groundnut is more drought resistant and can thrive in poorer soil.

The slightly immature nuts can be eaten fresh or boiled.  The mature nut, in a roasted or unroasted state, is usually pounded into flour and made into porridge.  It is canned in Ghana and Zimbabwe.  The nut is highly nutritious, containing proteins, oils, vitamins and trace elements.  The nut, as well as the rest of the plant, is also used to feed livestock.

BAMBOO

Especially Genera Arundinaria, Bambusa, Dendrocalamus and phyllostachs.

There are hundreds of bamboo species, the largest of which have diameter of 25 cm and reach a height of 35 metres.  A few species of this giant grass are hardy enough to survive outside moist tropical climates.

Bamboo is one of the most versatile construction materials.  It is used to make furniture, baskets boat masts, beehives, walking sticks, mats, cooking vessels, musical instruments, pulp and paper, food (see bamboo shoots), fodder and fuel.  Its most important use is probably in construction building is made of bamboo.  Its roots bind the soil and prevent erosion.  In addition, bamboo is now widely used to make a type of plywood.

This gigantic species of grass is in such great demand that production is not sufficient to meet needs, especially as more forest areas are taken over for agriculture and building.  China only produces half its requirements and India has started a crash programme of new planting.  Fortunately bamboo grows very fast.  The largest species can grow 40cm in a single day.

Many producers soak bamboo canes in running water for a month to remove starch and give them a longer useful life.  Others are experimenting with chemical strengtheners.

Almost all international trade in bamboo is confined to the South-East Asian region, but many countries, including some in Africa, are concentrating on trying to meet their ever-growing domestic needs by encouraging and providing technical assistance for the establishment of bamboo plantations that yield a valuable crop within a year of planting.  The International Development Research Centre based in Singapore acts as an information centre for this work.

The price of bamboo depends entirely on local market conditions but has generally been increasing over decades.

BAMBOO SHOOTS

See bamboo)

Bamboo shoots are eaten as a vegetable and produced in very large quantities.  They are used mainly in Chinese and other oriental cuisines.

Fresh bamboo shoots are exported from India, Kenya, the Philippines and Thailand.  They need to be transported immersed in water to keep fresh.  Most international trade is in canned bamboo shoots, however.

In early 1995 a 3 kilo can of bamboo shoots was retailing in London at 3 pound sterlings.

BANANA

Genus Musa

(See plantain)

Bananas are grown on a commercial basis in at least 120 countries and most are consumed in the producing country.  Less than a quarter of all bananas produced are exported.

1992 main banana producers (thousands pf tonnes)

India                                                                 7000

Brazil                                                                5650

Philippines                                                        3900

Ecuador                                                           3600

Indonesia                                                          2500

China                                                               2200

Colombia                                                         1900

Burundi                                                            1645

Costa Rica                                                       1633

Thailand                                                           1630

World                                                              49630

Source: FAO estimates

Ecuador is the world’s largest exporter, supplying over 2.5 million tonnes to the international market.

There are about 40 species of banana, including plantains and hundreds of man-made hybrids.  They grow on a tree-like stem and most types reach a height of about 4 or 5 metres.  Commercial bananas are mutants of a wild species which are seedless and edible.  The banana spientum variety of the tree begins to bear fruit about nine months after planting and will produce one or two crops a year.

The species Musa paradisiaa dominates commercial production in tropical countries (where most varieties of bananas grow best) and the wilt-resistant Musa canvendihii subgroup now dominates the export market from countries with slightly cooler climates.  A fibre is produced from another species (see abaca.

The US and EU import about one-third each of all exported bananas.  Japan, the next largest importer, takes approximately 10 per cent of world exports.

Most bananas produced for export are grown in large plantations where soil fertility, pesticide application and harvesting can be efficiently controlled and where fruit of a constant size, quality and ripeness can be produced.  They are propagated from pieces of the banana corm or from side shoots.  Bananas are harvested in the unripe, green condition, when they can take rough handling, and are packed into cartons of equal gross weights, usually of between 2o and 40 ib each.  Some suppliers put the green bananas in a closed shed and introduce ethylene or acetylene gas to ripen them artificially.  They must be shipped in temperature-controlled (cooled) containers and stored in temperature-controlled warehouses.

Banana trees have very short roots and are extremely vulnerable to strong winds.

There is a chronic overcapacity of production in the market and African, Caribbean and pacific (ACP countries) cannot compete with supplies from Latin America where huge, highly organised plantations owned by multinational corporations can benefit from economies of scale and cheap labour.

The banana trade is characterised by monopolistic arrangements in which individual exporting companies are granted exclusive marketing rights from individual exporting countries.

Preferential treatment given by the EU to ex-colonies in ACP countries to be a controversial aspect of the world’s banana trade.  The problem has given rise to friction between two sets of protagonists.  On one side, the US wants its giant banana-trading companies, who specialise in Latin American bananas, to be able to sell to the EU, Germany, which has no ACP ex-colonies, wants more access to cheap Latin American or ‘dollar’ bananas.  All the major banana-dealing companies also want themselves and GATT and the World Bank want to promote liberalised trade.

On the other side are the European countries with ex-colonies and the ACP countries themselves.  At present ACPs and overseas territories of EU member countries supply 40 per cent of EU imports, the balance being supplied by other countries, notably those of the so-called dollar zone of Central and South America.  Imports of these other supplies are restricted by EU quotas and by an import levy of 20 per cent.  It is hard to see how this arrangement can continue.

Meanwhile the EU marked small adjustments to quotas as demand increases and as new countries become EU members.

According to the World Bank, the cost of the EU quota system is US$2.3 billion a year, but only about US$300 million of this goes to the ACP countries.  The rest goes to monopolistic importing companies. The in