PART TWO

D–E DIRECTORY OF COMMODITIES

DATES

Phoenix dactylifera

Dates from the palm are mainly grown in warm areas outside the tropics. They can be grown in regions of low rainfall.  The date palm grows to between 6 and 10 metres tall and begins fruiting after 8 years.  It can continue producing fruit for 100 years.

There is very little trade in fresh dates.  There is, however, a substantial trade in dried dates which are used in developed countries in cakes, biscuits and other confectionery as well as being eaten as they are.  Dry dates for direct consumption are usually packed in the country of production in 8 oz packets, 30 to a box.

They are exported from several countries including Algeria,Egypt, Iran, Pakistan and Tunisia.

In early 1995 the wholesale price for Tunisian dates on the London market was £0.5 sterling for an 8 oz punnet.

DERRIS (Also known as timbo, barbascue)

Especially Derris elliptica

The chemical rotenone, which is the active ingredient of derris, can be extracted from a number of plants of the pea family, especially Derris elliptica.  It is a powerful insectiside which is used mainly by garderners.

The plants from which derris can be derived are grown in the East Indies and South and Central America.  Peru is an especially important producer and exporter.

Derris elliptica is a climbling plant which can be cultivated from cuttings.  The roots are harvested after two years.  The plant only grows well in hot, wet conditions.

The highest concentrations (about 7 per cent) of the active ingredient are found in the root of the plant.  A product called derris dust is produced by grinding the dried root into powder.  This product is useful insecticide which can be applied directly by the gardener, but most of the product is a used in the form of a liquid containing 40 per cent rotenone.  This product is produced by a relatively simple process in the main regions of consumption.  Belgium is a particularly important producer.

Derris is toxic to animals as well as insects and it is also used especially in America, to kill diseased or unwanted fish before restocking operations.  The toxic property of derris quickly disappears a few days after it is exposed to the environment.

In spite of competition from equally useful synthetic products derris is still favoured as a natural insecticide, although only about 200 tonnes a year are used throughout the whole of Europe.  The product is especially popular with French and British vegetable gardeners.

In 995 the price of derris dust was about US$7 per kilo and the bulk price of the 40 per cent liquid rotenone extract in Europe was US$55 per kilo.

DESICCATED COCONUT

(See coconut)

Desiccated coconut is the shredded kernel of the coconut.  It is used in confectionery and baking.  The testa or brown skin surrounding the flesh of the nut is scrapped away and the meat is shredded before being sterilised and dried.  The price of desiccated coconut is significantly above that of copra and, provided the necessary capital investment can be made in the milling machines used to make it, it does represent a good ‘added-value’ product for the coconut grower.  Indonesia, especially is opening new milling capacity and plans to increase world exports.

Desiccated coconut is marketed in four grades, which reflect the size of the shredded pieces; extra fine, fine or macaroon grade, medium grade and coarse grade.

Prices

Filipino macaroon grade, US$ per tonne, cif Europe:

1994 – 930, 1995 – 1020.

DHUDI

Dhudi is the young fruit of the bottle gourd, the fabled calabash tree of the tropics.  It is a vegetable and is eaten in the same way as marrows are eaten in the north.

It is exported in small quantities in the fresh state from Cyprus, Gambia, India, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria and Uganda.

In 1995 dhuhi were retailing in London at £1.35 sterling per Ib.  This suggests a cif UK price of about £0.70 sterling per Ib.

DURIAN

Durio zibethinus

Although this is a very well-known fruit in South-East Asia, the difficulty in peeling and trimming (only about 10 per cent of the fruit is edible), the unappealing smell of the skin when the fruit is first peeled (it can be detected from half a mile away) and the short shelf-life make it an unlikely candidate for international trade except in very small quantities.  Some people in the developed world, especially from ethnic minorities, are almost addicted to the fruit, however, and will pay high prices for it.  It is usually eaten fresh but can be boiled and eaten as a vegetable.  It is exported from China, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The durian tree starts producing two crops a year after about 5 years and may continue fruiting for 50 years.  Crops begin to decline after about 5 years and may continue fruiting for 50 years.  Crops begin to decline after about 15 years, however.

In early 1995 the wholesale price for durian in the London market was £4 sterling per Ib

EUCALYPTUS OIL

Production

1991 estimated production, medical grade (tonnes)

China                                                            1600-2000

Portugal                                                            150-200

India                                                                 150-200

South Africa                                                     150-180

Australia                                                           120-150

Swaziland                                                          80-100

Chile                                                                 80-100

Spain                                                                 50-100

World                                                           2480-3130

Source: Natural Resources Institute

Grades

Different grades of eucalyptus oil are produces by the different species of eucalyptus tree, but only a dozen or so out of the 500 species of eucalyptus are capable of producing commercially viable qualities and quantities of oil.

Oil from some subspecies of Eucalyptus globules, e. smithii, E. polybratea, E. exserta, E. viridis, E. dives and E. camaldulensis is rich in the active chemical, cineole, and is used for medicinal purposes.

Oil from some E. citriodora and E. staigeriana is rich in citronellal and is used in the perfumery industry.

Oil from some E. dives is rich in pipertone and phellandrene and is used to produce fragrances on an industrial scale.

Quality for the crude (unrefined) medicinal oil, which is the most commonly traded grade, is expressed as a percentage cineole content and it has little value if below 70 per cent.

Consumption

As might expected, the EU and USA are the largest importing areas, but large quantities are used in traditional remedies in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Uses

The medicinal grade oil ids used in inhalants, chest rubs, mouth-washes, skin rubs and cough sweets.  It is also used in non-medical applications as a cleaner and solvent.  (It removes tar stains from clothes very effectively.)

Perfumery grades are normally used for a cheap range of odours in disinfectants and cleaners, and the main use of the industrial grade is as a substitute for natural and synthetic menthol.

Production method

The oil is produced in a simple steam distillery from the leaves of the trees.  These leaves are either collected from the trees after felling or are harvested every few months from coppiced trees especially grown for oil production.

Simple distilleries with a few tonnes of capacity may be commercially viable.  The harvesting of and oil production from leaves from coppiced trees can be a year-round activity.

Main market features

China is by far the largest producer of the most abundant medicinal grade.  Between 1988 and 1994 the combination of decentralised selling by the Chinese and the global recession caused the price of the standard grade Chinese 80 per cent medicinal oil to drop.  These low prices have promoted reductions of production in Spain and Portugal.  The domestic Chinese market is said to be contracting and excessive Chinese selling is likely to keep prices low for the foreseeable future.

Most eucalyptus oil is purchased from producers by trading companies specialising in essential oils.  Consumers are unlikely to purchase oil on cif or even fob terms and will require delivery to works and monthly payments.

It is believed that some Chinese eucalyptus oil is derived from the camphor tree, whose distilled product cannot be easily distinguished from that of eucalyptus trees.

Prices

Chinese, cif Europe, US$ per kg:

1991 – 7.00, 1992 – 5.50, 1993 – 4.20, 1994 – 2.95, 1995 – 4.35.

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