PART TWO

F–I DIRECTORY OF COMMODITIES

FENUGREEK (also known as methi, Greek hay

Trigonella foenum-graecum

The main international trade is in the seeds, but the fresh and dried leaves are also used to flavour curries.  In some countries the plant is grown for forage.

The main producers are India, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Iran, Lebanon and Morocco.  The annual volume of world trade is about 10,000 tonnes.

Fenugreek is an annual, which matures in about three to five months from sowing.  For seed production, the whole plant is harvested and hung up to dry before being threshed to obtain the square-shaped seed.

International dealers require low levels of admixture (loose husks, dirt, other seeds, etc).  The level should be no more than 4 per cent and preferably below 1 per cent.

Prices

Indian seed, cif Europe, US$ per tonne:

1991 – 525, 1992 – 400, 1993 – 510, 1994 – 660, 1995 – 660.

FRANKINCENSE (also known as Olibanum)

Genus Boswellia

Frankincence is the aromatic resin of two related species of small, gnarled desert trees which grow in north-east Africa (especially Somalia and Ethiopia) and on the Arabian Peninsula.  The trees grow wild in small groves, often many miles from each other and known only to the local tribe of nomadic people of the region – and in some senses owned by them.  These pastoralists peel patches of the bark off the trees and the resin oozes to the surface in the form of small white drops which dry into a hard gum.

It is used as incense in the rites of several religions, especially Judaism.  It is also used in perfumes (the word perfume comes from the latin per fumum meaning ‘through smoke’, i.e the burning of incense),  In China, frankincense is used in a range of medicines.  A more recent nut increasing use for it has been found in aromatherapy.

The best-quality frankincense is said to come from the mountains of Oman.  Lower-quality frankincense is gathered from trees at a lower altitude.

The gatherers clean and grade the gum and then may carry it over hundreds of miles and for many months before selling it to traditional dealers based in towns and ports.  Much of the highest-quality gum is sold at high prices to local Arab customers.  Large quantities are sold for export to the markets of Southern Asia but also to Northern –based merchants who specialise in serving the marketing developed countries.

Total production figures are extremely difficult to assess, but it is estimated that Somalia, the largest producer, probably exports around 300 tonnes a year.

Prices in the international market depend on which species the gum comes from (boswellia frereana produces better gum than the Boswellia carteri), the size of pieces (larger pieces are more valuable) and colour  (white is favoured over yellow and yellow over brown).  Average quality but clean grades of the gum sell at between US$5 and 10 per kilo.  Small granules of between 1 and 4 mm sell at about US$3per kilo.  The very best grades can sell at up to US$50 per kilo to buyers in the Gulf States.

GALANGAL

Alpinia officinarum

This ginger-like vegetable is used to flavour oriental dishes, especially in Indonesia and Thai cuisine.  There are two main varities – the greater galangal, which is very like ginger, and the lesser galangal, which is more bulbous and hairly and has a lemony aroma.

Galangal is exported, mainly for the restaurant trade, from Thailand and Indonesia.

In 1995 the wholesale price of galangal on the London market was US$18 per kilo.

GHATTI GUM (also known as Indian gum)

Anogeissus latifolia

Ghatti gum is the exudates of the stem of a plant, which grows wild throughout India and Sri Lanka.  Industrially it is used as an ingredient in some drilling ‘muds’ where it reduces the viscosity by absorbing water.  It is used as an emulsifier in butter and butter-scotch, and as a substitute for gum Arabic.

In early 1995 the market price for ghatti gum was between US$1200 and 1400 per tonne cif Europe.

GINGER

Zingiber officinale

Ginger is the underground stem (rhizome) of a perennial herb, which is used as a spice and as a preservertive.

The knobby rhizome is dug up when the 1 metre tall leaves and stems of the plant wither, which occurs between 6 and 12 months after planting.  It is then prepared for market by either scalding, to produce black ginger, or by scraping and washing to produce white ginger.  It is sold in the fresh condition or, more frequently, in a peeled and split dried form.  It is also traded in a powdered form, as crystallised ginger, as ginger oil or as an ingredient in curry powders.

The quality of fresh ginger is judged by its plumpness and firmness, unwrinkled skin (the sign of freshness) and lack of mildew.  There are British and US specifications for imported dried ginger, which specify quality by moisture, fibre and ash content as well as maximum allowable contamination by insects etc.

Ginger can be produced in many countries but it does best in moist, tropical conditions.  There are very few hard statistics on the volume of production and trade, possibly because of the several forms in which it is traded and the fact that a high proportion is consumed in the countries where it is grown.

Indonesia is thought to be the largest producer with a production of about 35,000 tonnes a year.  China produces slightly less, with India and Nigeria producing about 7,000 tonnes each.  Jamaica, Taiwan and Fiji also specialise in ginger production.  Of these, Jamaican ginger is judged the best and Indian ginger is also considered to be of good quality.  Nigeria, which has not built a regular market for its exports, is often forced to sell at significant discounts.

Europe imports about 3000 tonnes a year, over half of which goes to the UK.  Japan is another major market.

Ginger has a very wide range of uses: as a sweetmeat in form of crystallised ginger and as a flavouring beer and other drinks, and in cakes and biscuits and in many types of oriental dishes.

Prices

Indian, cif Europe, US$ per tonne:

1991 – 2100, 1992 – 1300, 1993 – 1500, 1994 – 1250, 1995 – 1800.

GRANADILLA

Passiflora quadrangularis

The fruit is related to the passion fruit and is used in a similar way, i.e as a fresh fruit but also for flavouring ice-cream and other sweet dishes.  It has a relatively long shelf-life and has started to be marketed internationally in small quantities.  It is grown in lowland areas and exported from Colombia and Peru.

In early 1995 the wholesale price for Colombian granadilla on the London market was £9 sterling for a 1 kilo carton containing about 18 fruit.

GRAPEFRUIT

Citrus papadisi

Grapefruit are grown mainly in temperate zones.  Some tropical countries do produce and export them, however.  These include Brazil, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Honduras, Mexico, Mozambique, Pakistan, Sudan, Swaziland, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.  They are usually packed in 15 kg boxes

In early 1995 the wholesale price for Cuban grapefruit on the London market was £6.50 sterling for 15kg carton.

GREEN BEAN (also known as French bean (P. vulgaris)

Phaseolus vulgaris and Phaseolus coccineus

Green beans are mainly grown in temperate countries for consumption between April and November.  Tropical countries, which can supply them to industrialised countries outside this season, can expect a good price for them.

In order to import the beans into industrialised countries, the beans should be intact, sound, of fresh appearance, clean and free of impurities, free from foreign smell or taste and all abnormal external moisture.

The EU recognises three grades known as Extra class, class I and class II.  The quality of these grades are based on turgescence (how swollen they are), tenderness, size, shape, colour and how seedless and stringless they are.  The pods should be no more than 9 mm wide.  Ideally, they should be packed the same way round in the carton and should all be of about the same length.

Tropical producers include Cameroon, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Mexico and Zimbabwe.

In early 1995 the wholesale price for Kenyan green beans on the London market was £7.50 sterling for a 6 IB carton.

GROUNDNUT (also known as peanut, monkey nut, earth nut)

Arachis hypogea

(See groundnut oil)

Production

The groundnut is grown throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world and in some warm temperate climates.

1992 Main producers (thousands of tonnes)

India                                                              8,200
China                                                            5,580
USA                                                             1,943
Nigeria                                                          1,214
Indonesia                                                       1,037
Senegal                                                           578
Myanmar                                                         466
Sudan                                                              454
Zaire                                                               440
Argentina                                                         320
World                                                           23,506

Source: FAO estimates

Grades

Groundnuts are specified by type, ie Virginia ‘runners’, the larger variety, and Spanish-Valencia, which are smaller.  Grading is first by size which is given as numbers of whole kernels to the ounce:60 to 100 to the ounce are regarded as small, 40 to 60 medium and 30 to 40 as large .  The larger nuts gain better market prices.  A uniform shape ia also more valued.  Buyers are also likely to specify a maximum (usually 1 per cent) admixture (dirt or foreign bodies) and a maximum moisture content.  They may also specify a maximum free fatty acid content.

The nut is prone to infection by a fungus causing the growth of a poisonous substance known as aflatoxin, which is dangerous for both humans and livestock.  For this reason most importing countries require certification that the aflatoxin content of 4 parts per billion (ppb).  The USA has a less strict limit but imports hardly any groundnuts.  Buyers may also require a general phytosanitary health certification and /or proof that the nuts have been fumigated with a chemical such as aluminium phosphide.

Groundnuts are usually exported in 50 kilo sacks.

Consumption

At 100,000 tonnes per year, the UK is the world’s largest importer of fresh, edible, shelled groundnuts, followed by the Netherlands (which reexports most of them).  Most of these imports come from the USA.

Uses

Groundnuts are eaten as a staple food in many countries where they are grown.  In developed countries they are usually eaten as a snack, but also in the form of a paste in many oriental dishes and a peanut butter.  The nut is used widely in confectionery, especially in chocolate bars.  Groundnuts are also crushed to extract groundnut oil, the remaining meal is used as cattle feed.

Production method

As the name implies, groundnut grow in the earth.  The groundnut plant is an annual reaching 20 to 40 cm in height.  The plant matures in about three to five months but this period depends somewhat on the variety.  After pollination the bright yellow flowers grow downwards on a stem known as a peg and enter the soil, which must be well drained, loose and sandy.  They then sprout pods as a depth of one to three inches below the surface.  Up to four nuts, which are the seeds of the plant, are contained in these pods.  Harvesting is done by digging up the plant, drying it (usually upside down) and then threshing.  The nuts must be harvested before they germinate.

Shelling can be done mechanically on a large scale or by hand operated machines.  Where shelling (or decoratication, as it is known) is by hand, the nuts are broken in a mottar and winnowed in the breeze.

There are two main groups of varieties: the Virginia runner type, which has large seeds and the Spanish-valencia erect type which has smaller seeds.

Like other members of the pea family, groundnut impart nitrogen to the soil and therefore do not usually need to be manured.

Main market features

It is estimated that about one-third of groundnut production is grown for direct consumption, the rest going for crushing or further processing.  As shelled nuts weigh 55 per cent less than unshelled nuts and take up only half the space, the international trade in in-shell groundnuts is relatively small (about 4 per cent of the total).

International trade in groundnuts is mainly between developed countries.  The very strict controls required by importers on aflatoxin content limits the ability of many tropical producers to compete.  In addition, by far the most profitable section of the commercial chain in the market is the processing and packaging of the nut (often in air tight sachets) and only large, wealthy companies can achieve the high standards necessary to gain a foothold in the market.

There have been several innovations by the trade, which have boosted consumption.  Dry roasted peanuts are popular and the consumption of peanut butter in Europe is rising.  The British feed 5000 tonnes of groundnuts to wild birds each year.  This is a good market for off-grade peanuts.

Prices

Chinese 40/50, US$ per tonne, cif Europe:

1991 – 1450, 1992 – 750, 1993 – 700, 1994 – 1012, 1995 – 770

GROUNDNUT OIL

(See groundnut)

Groundnut oil is produced from groundnuts in most of the countries where groundnuts are grown.  In 1992 India, with an estimated groundnut oil production of 1,730,000 tonnes, was the largest producer, followed by China with a production of 1,270,000 tonnes.  World production was estimated to be 3,750,000 in the same year.  Most groundnut oil is consumed in the country where it is produces.

Groundnuts sold for oil production must usually have a minimum of 48 per cent oil content.

Groundnut oil is used as a salad oil and in cooking oil and margarine.  It is also used in soaps

The oil is extracted from groundnut paste by expression and solvent extraction.  The golden yellow oil can be used without further processing, but for many of its uses it is refined and bleached to an odourless, pale-coloured liquid.

The residue of the groundnut paste after oil extraction is used as a feed for cattle.

Prices

Any origin, refined and deodorished, ex tank Rotterdam, £ sterling per tonne:

1991 – 702, 1992 – 435, 1993 – 531, 1994 – 835, 1995 – 853.

GUAR GUM

Cyamopsis tetragnolobus

Guar gum is an edible carbohydrate polymer obtained from the seeds of a leguminous plant which grows in semi-arid areas.  The plant has been grown for centuries for human consumption and cattle feed.  The gum’s main modern use is as an ingreidient in drilling ‘mud’ used in the extraction of oil and water.  Its water-absorbent properties help to control the viscosity of the mud.

The gum also has a very wide range of other uses.  It is employed as a flocculant in the recovery of ore in the mining industry and as a filtering and suspension agent in coal mining.  It is also used as a thickening agent in many types of food product including sauces ketchups, ice-cream, baby foods and confectionery.  It is used as a sizing agent in the paper and textile industry.  There are other applications for the gum in the manufacture of explosives, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, printing, inks and in animal feeds.

The gum is made from the endosperms of the seed, recovered by hulling the seed and breaking away the endosperms, known as ‘splits’.  The product is traded in the form of splits or powder and, its value is judged by its viscosity, measured in centipoises units abbreviated to ‘cp’.  High-viscosity guar has a higher market price.

Production of guar is concentrated in the Indian subcontinent.  The USA is also a producer but has found it difficult to compete with Asian supplies, in spite of mechanised farming systems and US government subsidies.  The volume of production varies considerably from year to year, partly because of changing weather conditions bur also because of the different decisions, which growers make as to whether the plant should be used for fodder or for gum.  In some recent years production has been as high as a million tonnes but has also been as low as a third of that figure.  Production also fluctuates with demand, especially from the oil industry.

The USA is easily the largest importer, taking some 50,000 tonnes a year, but Europe and Japan are also large importers.  Importing countries also reexport the gum in large quantities in the form of processed products.

In early 1995 a medium-viscosity guar of 3500 cp was trading at US$700 to US$800 per tonne cif Europe.

GUARANA

Paullinia cupana

Guarana has been used for centuries by Amazonian Indians as a stimulant.  The guarana shrub, which is much like a coffee bush, produces a nut, which contains three times as much caffeine as coffee.  Locally it is consumed as a bitter tasting soft drink made with an infusion of the roasted and powdered nut.

In recent years its quanlities have been promoted in developed countries as a ‘non-addictive stimulant with no known side effects’.  It is marketed in the form of a liquid tonic, capsules, or chewing gum called ‘Buzz Gum’.

The UK alone is said to import about 20 tonnes per year of the powdered nut for manufacture into these products.  All exports are made from Brazil where the nut is grown organically in small plantations,

In 1995, a packet of 100 guarana capsules each containing 350 mg of guarana were being retailed at £7 sterling.

GUAVA

Psidium guajava

Guavas are grown all over the tropics and warm temperate countries.  They are now a familiar fruit in supermarkets in the developed world, both in their fresh state and in cans.  They are also made into jellies.  Guavas contain between two and five times more vitamin c than oranges.

Typically, single guava trees are grown in people’s backyards in tropical countries.  Selective breeding has produced many varieties.  Fruiting begins about two years after planting and increases for six years.  The small branches of the tree have a square cross-section, and these bear fruit for about 30 years.  They are grown commercially and exported by Australia, Brazil, Egypt, India, Israel, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand and Venezuela.

Fresh guava are usually packed for export in 3 to 5 kg cartons.  In early 1995 the wholesale price for Brazilian guava on the London marlet was £6 sterling for a 3.5 kg carton.

GUM ARABIC

Especially Acacia Senegal

Production

Estimated exports (tonnes):

Sudan – (1985) 20,000, (1992) 6000 tonnes (official) Nigeria  - 1992 1870 tonnes.

Sudan is the largest exporter of the best grade of gum Arabic, known as ‘Kordofan”, which constitutes about two-thirds of the world’s supply.  Other minor producing countries are Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

Grades

Traders once had a complicated system of grading but recently Sudanese Kordofan gum has been referred to as ‘Number 1’ and gum from other origins as ‘Number 2’.  Within these descriptions quality is judged by colour, shape and specific rotation.  High-quality gum Arabic is a light colour, yellowish or rosy pink.  Pieces should be large, 2 to 4 cm across and round in shape.  (Grades are classified as super round, round and mixed, i.e broken pieces.)  The specific rotation is measured in the Lever Rotatory Test where 10 per cent solution of th egum in water gives a range of minus 26 to minus 34 degrees.

Dark gums or gum in small pieces or with a less negative or positive rotation are of lower value (perhaps only a quarter of the high-grade price) and have fewer uses, or must be blended with higher grades to find a use.

The EU specification of the gum states that it must come from the Acacia Senegal species of tree or related species.

Although Kordofan is the highest-quality gum Arabic, some Nigerian gum is also consifered a high-quality product.  However, some traders do not trust Nigerian suppliers to ship gum of the same quality as their samples and, consequently, mark down the price.  Exports are mainly to developed countries.

Uses

The main use of gum Arabic is in the production of sweets, especially the fruit gum variety and in throat lozenges and some medicines.  The gum has a minor use in the brewing industry and it is also used in the printing trade as an admixture to inks.  Gum Arabic is soluble in water and was used widely in the production of gums used on stamps and labels.  This use is now very much diminished.

Production method

The gum flows from cuts made in the bark of certain species of acacia tree which grow naturally in eastern Africa.  It is harvested mainly by semi-nomadic farmers.  Care in the selection of tress and trnsport affects the price greatly.

Gum Arabic production is small scale by its very nature.  Buyers, however, want to receive a regular and consistent product.  Producers are therefore strongly advised to cooperate with other, neighbouring producers, to devise systems to select consistent qualities and to market larger quantities.

Main market features

The gum Arabic market is still dominated by Sudan in spite of many years of disruption in that country caused by civil war.  In the late 1980s, prior to the worst disruption, sudan exported over 20,000 tonnes annually, mainly to Europe, but in 1992/3 official exports had fallen to only about 6000 tonnes.  Sudanese sales are coordinated through a state monopoly, the Sudanese Gum Arabic Co ltd, which sets the price at the beginning of each season.  During this recent period of shortage the Sudanese increased their selling price to about US$5000 per tonne.  Some Sudanese producers were cut off from their usual selling route or were dissatisfied with the low buying price offered by the state.  Several thousand tonnes of Sudanese gum were smuggled through other countries and in 1994 up to US$8000 per tonne was paid for this material in Europe.  By mid-1995, Sudanese supplies had increased and no smuggling was reported.

High prices have accelerated the move by consumers to find artificial substitutes and many uses for gum Arabic have been lost.  Sweet manufacturers still favour this natural product, however.

Almost all gum Arabic is traded by very few specialist merchant houses, especially in Europe, although some of these buyers also control processing factories that blend and prepare the product for the confectionery and printing trade.  End-users very rarely purchase supplies directly from producers.

Prices

In mid1995 good quality Sudanese Kordofan gum was trading at US$4 per kilo, cif Europe.  Good-quality Nigerian gum was trading at US$3 per kilo.

GUTTA-PERCHA

Family Sapotaceae

The tass gutta-percha tree yields latex from under its bark.  It only grows in very hot and humid conditions.  Gutta-percha is produced commercially in Malaysia and Indonesia and mainly for local use in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

This brownish-grey rubbery substance has lost much ground to synthetic substitutes, but it was once to make golf balls, shoes and even chewing gum.  It is still used for machine belting and (combined with other substances like bitumen)for deep-sea cables and as insulation for other electrical conductors.  It is non-elastic rubber which goes soft on heating but is hard at room temperature.  It can be drawn into threads.

Traditionally, gutta-percha was extracted from wild tress after cutting the whole tree down.  More recently the tree has been cultivated from seed.  The trunk may be trapped to obtain the milky white latex which coagulates into the gum on exposure to air.  It is then kneaded under running water to expel air, rolled into sheets and then put into a heated masticator.  Alternatively, the leaves may be chipped and crushed and boiled in water to extract the gum.

The most commonly used product, known as ‘brown’ with a 7 to 10 percent maximum moisture content, sells in lump form for about US$35 per kilo on the wholesale market in Europe.  The higher quality, ‘black anhydrous’ (completely water free), sells for up to US$100 per kilo.

HEMP (and HEMP SEED)

Cannabis sativa

Hemp is a fibre obtained from the stem of an annual plant growing up to 2.5 metres in height.

The fibre is not easily bleached and is therefore used mainly for making twine (especially agricultural binder twine), rope, sacking and canvas, including canvases used by painters.  (Many old masters were painted on hemp canvases.)  it is also made into environmentally sound ‘tree-free’ paper.  Comparatively small quantities of hemp are now grown in the UK, Italy and China in special conditions designed to produce fibre, which is very light in colour.  This fibre is used to make a cloth, very similar to linen, from which a range of expensive, but rather fashionable clothes are made.

1992 Main producers (thousands of tonnes)

China                                                            70

Romania                                                        41

India                                                              35

Former Soviet Union                                     18

North Korea                                                 11

Ukraine                                                         5

Pakistan                                                        5

Turkey                                                          4

France                                                           3

Spain                                                             2

World                                                           196

Source: FAO estimates

Only a small proportion of industrial hemp is grown in tropical regions, although it can be grown in any but the coolest climates.

True hemp should not be confused with abaca (Manila Hemp).

Hemp plants need adequate water –5 cm a month in the growing season.  The stem of the plant can be harvested up to four times a year in warm climatic conditions.  It is cut close to the ground after which it is retted (semi-rotted in water), dried and crushed.  The greenish brown fibre is usually about 1.8 meters long.  It is stronger and longer than flax but not so flexible, and has four times the tensile strength of cotton.

The UK, Belgium, Germany and France are the most important importers of hemp.

Apart from the revived use for hemp as a cloth for making clothes, caused in part by a renewed interest in natural fibres, hemp has to compete with synthetic fibres and other natural fibres in its industrial uses.  The prospect of a major increase in demand or price is therefore limited.

The leaves and flowers of the hemp plant are, of course, marijuana, which is smoked as a drug, illegally in most countries.

Coarse and broken fibres of hemp are known as tow.

The seeds of the hemp plant yield an oil which, although edible, is used mainly in varnishes and soap, as a food for caged birds and as bait for anglers.

1992 Main hemp seed producers (thousands of tonnes)

Former Soviet Union                                     7000

Pakistan                                                        5400

Romania                                                        3000

France                                                           2000

Hungary                                                        1400

Chile                                                             1100

Source: FAO estimates

In early 1995 the cif Europe price for textile grade Chinese hemp fibre was between US$5.25 and US$6 per kilo.

HENNA (also known as Egyptain privet)

Lawsonia inermis

In developed countries henna is used almost exclusively as a hair dye and conditioner.  It is used both in hairdressers’ shops and by individual users at home.  In some countries of origin it is used in other cosmetic products.

There are no published trade statistics for henna, but the volume of world trade is estimated to about 10,000 tonnes.  The main exporting countries are Indian, Pakistan, Australia, morocco, Egypt and Iran.  Other smaller producers include panama, Jamaica, Niger, Sudan, and China.

Henna is extracted from the leaves, shoots, twigs, stems, and roots of a shrubby perennial plant which grows to about 3 metres tall.

Henna is traded in dried or powdered form.  It is classified into three varieties – green, black,and neutral.  Green henna is made from the young leaves of the henna plant and imparts a deep red colour.  Black henna is made from the roots and neutral henna is made from the stem.  Neutral henna does not colour the hair, but accentuates the hair’s natural highlights and conditions.  It is used in powdered form, mixed with water.

Users in developed countries are attracted to henna partly because it is a natural product, and therefore considered safe to use.  Artificial dyes are usually damaging to the hair, whereas henna positively conditions the hair and can be easily washed out.  There has been a big trend towards the promotion of natural products in the cosmetics industry and large chains of retailers have emerged to offer products like henna to the market.

Henna is used in very large quantities in Middle-Eastern countries, but the USA, EU and Japan are also large consumers.

In 1995 the price, on a cif Europe basis in US$ per kilo, of the three types of henna marketed from Iran were as follows:

Black – 1.60, red – 1.52, neutral – 1.33.

HONEY

(See also beeswax, pollen, propolis and royal jelly)

Production

Honey is produced in most countries.  Some honeys produced in tropical countries are prized for their ‘exotic’ taste, a consequence of the rich variety of flowers available to the bees.

China, Australia, Mexico and Argentina are the most important exporters of honey, but Cuba, USA, Canada and Guatemala are also substantial exporters.

Grades

Although honey needs to conform to minimum quality standards before it can be traded internationally, the market price is also dependent on the subjective opinion of consumers.

Bees produce ‘monofloral honey if they collect almost all their nectar from only one type of flower, monofloral honey is generally more valuable than ‘polyfloral’ honey produced by bees that collect nectar from many kinds of flower.

High prices are paid for organic honey, but this can only be produced by bees from hives that are distant from main roads and where the bees only visit flowers that are not contaminated by pesticides or other harmfull chemicals

Honey is also graded according to colour, which can be determined by an instrument called a colorimeter.  Colours range from white through very light amber to amber to dark.  Although light-coloured honeys are generally more valuable, this is not always the case.  About two-thirds of honey production is described as ‘clear’ and one third crystalline (i.e contains sugar crystals, a natural phenomenon in many honeys, which renders honey translucent ).

EU regulations presently specify that imported honey should be completely free of contaminants such as wax, vegetal residues and insects, and contain very limited contents of agricultural chemicals.  There must be no added sucrose.  It must be free of fermentation and contain no more than 19.5 per cent moisture.  The content of 5-hdroxy-methyl furfuraldehyde known as HMF, a naturally occurring contaminant, which grows in the honey, especially in hot conditions) should be no higher than 20 parts per million.

Tainting from smoke, used to pacify bees and to control bees mites, causes reduction in quality.

It can be seen from the above that producers wishing to export to developed countries will need access to some laboratory facilities and a high degree of quality control.

A light amber Yucatan (Mexican) honey is used for a benchmark price indicator.

Consumption.

The EU is the largest market for exports of honey from other countries.  Within the EU, Germany consumes over three times the quantity of honey consumed in the UK, the second largest EU consumer.  Japan and Switzerland are also important importing countries.  The USA is a massive consumer but is also a net exporter.

Uses

Honey is mainly used for food, especially 10 per cent is used industrially for confectionery, food supplements, cosmetics and for mixing with tobacco.  Industrial consumers can sometimes buy substandard honeys at lower price.

Production method

Honey is still collected from the nests of wild bees in many parts of the world.  The nests, usually in holes in trees, are often destroyed in  the process, killing many of the bees in the colony and thus reducing potential honey production in the area.

The bulk of the world’s honey for human consumption is produced in manmade hives.  Bees can be attracted to the hive from the wild or, when particular characteristics are required, can be bought from breeders.

Honey is usually traded in300 kg (45 gallon) expoxy-lined steel drums which must be new scrupulously cleaned before use.

Honey production has a beneficial effect on the pollination of crops in the area.

Main market features

China and Mexico in the Northern hemisphere and Argentina and Australia in the South are mass producers of honey.  The bulk of their production is of a consistently high quality but has no special features.  This product is either used for blending or for very ordinary brands.  Production from Northern countries is very large and its price is generally slightly lower than honey from Southern producers, especially during the Northern autumn when it is most easily available.

The mass-produced honey can, because of economies of scale, be produced more cheaply than in some countries with lower wage costs.  Smaller, individual producers find such honey hard to compete with on both quality and price.  The only sure way to compete is by offering a consistent, special quality honey, be it monofloral or organic, which should interest a specialist bottler in an importing country.

The competition between the large exporters kept prices very low during the early 1990s.  the very severe economic situation in Mexico, which developed in 1995, has reduced local production and international prices increased sharply.

The EU protects its own producers with high import tariffs imposed on all but the very poorest countries.

Large supermarket chains, which sell most bottled honey, usually buy from bottlers and not from producers.

Honey consumption has consistently risen in developed countries and is benefiting from the trend towards ‘natural’ foods.

International trade is conducted by specialist trading companies based in the main centres of consumption and also by packers who both import and buy from merchants.  These packers may be multinational corporations or relatively small independent companies.  The packers blend and bottle honeys to obtain a consistent range of honeys which suit their particular market, which may include special honeys including monoflorals, tropical grades and organic honey.

Prices

In early 1995 light amber Mexican honey was trading at about US$1200 per tonne.  The price rose consistently from about US$800 per tonne in mid-1994

HYACINTH BEAN (Also known as papri)

The hyacinth bean is a perennial herb, often grown as an annual.  The mature bean is normally harvested between 150 and 210 days after planting.

The fresh bean may be eaten, pod and all, rather like mangetout, but the beans themselves can be extracted and used in many kinds of bean soup.  The bean ia a common source of protein in southern India.  It has become less popular than other beans in Kenya over recent years.  It has a relatively short shelf-life.  Apart from its use as a food for human beings, it is also used to feed animals.  It is grown throughout the tropics and subtropics.  It is also used very drought resistant crop unless it is intended to use the pod as a food, in which case it needs a lot of irrigation .  in this latter case, the bean is usually grown commercially and mainly for export.

Hyacinth beans are exported from Kenya in 5 kg cartons.

INCENSE

The word ‘incense’ is used to describe any substance, which is burned to give off smoke with a pleasant odour – especially naturally occurring gums and resins.

See frankincense, myrrh and sandalwood oil.

INDIGO

Natural indigo is a blue dye which is contained in several kinds of plant including Isatis tinctoria, the plant used to extract woad in ancient Britain.  Its main use is in the dyeing of cotton.

Before 1890 all indigo was extracted from plants, but it is now nearly all produced synthetically.  The last natural indigo factory in India, where the indigo industry was once very important, closed down in the early part of the twentieth century.

In Nigeria indigo is still produced dor local consumption.

IPECACUANHA

Cephaelis ipecacuanha

Ipecacuanha is a drug which is contained in the bark of the twisted roots of a small, creeping plant originating in the tropical forests of South America.  About 100 tonnes are exported each year.

The drug is used as a purgative and emetic.  It also aids repiration and increases perpiration.  It is used in the treatment of amoebic dysentery.  The drug acts on the central nervous system and can be dangerous in large doses.

Ipecacuanha is now grown mainly in India, but also in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and brazil form stem cuttings which are first rooted in a nursery.  The roots are harvested when the plant is in flower two to three years after transplanting.  The bark of the root is stripped off and dried for use.  It contains about 1 per cent of the active ingredient, emetine.

Prices

Costa Rican, US$ per kilo, cif Europe:

1992 – 38.04, 1993 – 24.98, 1994 – 24.75, 1995 – 24.75.

In early 1995 the wholesale price of Colombian tamarillo on the London market was £9 sterling for a carton of 30 fruit.


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