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Sri Lankan Products |
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Trade Information > Sri Lankan Products > Spices, Essential Oils and Medicinal
Herbs |
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Spices, Essential Oils and Medicinal Herbs |
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| Herbs,
Herbal Preparations and Health Foods |
Sri Lankan herbs can be divided into two groups:
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Culinary herbs |
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Medicinal herbs |
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Ten Sri Lankan companies are involved in growing, processing and exporting
herbs and herbal preparations.
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| Culinary Herbs |
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Tarragon - [Artemisia dracunculus] |
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Sage - [Salvia officinalis] |
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Spearmint - [Mentha species] |
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Basil - [Ocymum basilicum] |
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Dill - [Anethum graveolens] |
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| Medicinal Herbs |
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Polpala - [Eerva lanta] |
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Gotukola - [Centella asiatica] |
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Komarika - [Aloe vera] |
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Ranawara - [Cassia auriculata] |
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Rasakinda - [Tinospora cordifolia] |
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Value added herbal preparations
Herbal tea, drinks, oils and balms.
Major Markets
Germany, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Russia.
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| Essential
Oils and Oleoresins |
Introduction
Essential oils are aromatic, odorous oily liquids obtained from plant
material, for example flower
buds, leaves, seeds, bask fruits and roots. Essential oils, the most
flavorful part of many spices & herbs, Therefore of highs value
than the spice itself. Essential oils can be obtained from the plant
material by distillation or extraction. Sri Lanka has a long history
for exporting essential oils.
Exports of Essential oils from Sri Lanka as follows.
These are three different distillation methods.
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Water distillation |
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Water & Steam distillation |
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Steam distillation |
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Major Markets
Essential oil Exports – 1998 ( Value in US $ Mn )
U.S.A., India, France, U.K., Netherland, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong,
Spain, Switzerland
Quality & Grading Standards
The quality of essential oils is assessed by a buyer on the basis
of a number of criteria.
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Odour and flavour character |
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Physical properties and the chemical
compositions |
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The Standard Specifications include
A definition of the acceptable botanical source and processing method
for the particular oil, specifications for physico – chemical
properties such as
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Relative density |
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Ester value |
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Freezing point |
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Optical rotation analysis |
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CISIR certification gives general analysis of essential oils.
Packaging
There are different ways of packaging. The 200 L metal or tin lining
drums are normally used for shipping high volume essential oils. These
drums contain app. 180 Kg of oil. Special attention must be paid to
sealing the drums, to avoid dilution of the essential oils during
transport.
Market segmentation
Essential oils can be used in various end-use products. It depends
on the kind of oil and the quality of the oil in what kind of end-use
product they are processed.
Some of the different industries, which use essential oils are
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Perfume industry |
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Pharmaceutical industry |
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Food industry
Bakery
Confectionery
Beverages |
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Optical rotation analysis |
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The Labeling on the drums must include a short description of the
product and country of origin and the date of production.
Further it is recommended to include the following aspects on the
label.
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Name / address of the producer /
exporter |
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Net weight |
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Recommended storage conditions |
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Introduction
Sri Lanka has been famous for her natural spices from ancient times.
Spices now play an important role in Sri Lankan agricultural economy
in respect of export oriented trade. The important spice crops in
Sri Lanka comprise cinnamon, pepper, clove, nutmeg and mace. Spices
are cultivated in the wet and intermediate zones of the country. |
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| Common Name |
Botanical name |
Family |
Part Used |
| Cinnamon |
Cinnamomum verum |
Lauraceae |
Bark |
| Pepper |
Piper nigrum |
Piperraceae |
Fruit seed |
| Cardamom |
Elettaria cardamomum |
Zingiberaccae |
Friut seed |
| Clove |
Syzigium aromaticium |
Myrtaccae |
Flower Bud |
| Nutmeg |
Myristica fragrans |
Myristicaceae |
Seed |
| Mace |
Myristica fragrans |
Myristicaceae |
Aril of seed |
Exports of Spices and allied products are in the range of Rs.5700
mn and provides many socio-economic benefits to the rural economy.
Exports of spices can be divided in to two groups.
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Primary Form |
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Value added form - powder, oil, spice
mixes and various recipes |
Major Markets
Mexico, U.S.A., U.K., Colombia, Germany, India
Quality
and Grading Standards
The bulk of spices entering international trade is in whole and ungrounded
form.
When ground or mixed spices are exported specially testing for contamination
or other residues needed.
Sri Lanka follows SLSI standards but actual quality standards required
are set by importers and major end users against the health and safety
requirements of Food and Drug Act, ASTA Specifications, EU regulations
or ESA standards.
The main quality factors considered are appearance, flavour, aroma,
colour, volatile oil content and cleanliness.
Packing
Spices are required to be packed in clean, hygienic materials which
do not interact with the product itself and also depend on the importer’s
specification
Most of the spices are packed in jute bags lined with waterproof.
Cinnamon is generally packed in bales and for other Spices steel drums
or wooden cases and for cardamom black polythene can be used for colour
preservation. All spices must be thoroughly dried to avoid the formation
of mould before shipment.
Major International Food
Fairs…..
Food Ingredients Europe
Anuga
SIAL
IFE
Alimentaria
Food Ingredients Asia
Foodex
Food & Hotel Asia
Range of Products
Tea, spices, cashew, desiccated coconut, herbs, processed fruits and
vegetables.
Sri Lanka's economy has for a long time been based on the export of
agricultural produce. In recent years, an effort has been made to
break into the international market for organic produce. The first
conversion of tea estates to organic production was made as early
as the mid 1980s.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board has recognised the potential
Sri Lanka possesses to become an exporter of organic produce and with
the assistance of Pro-trade has developed and diversified the exports
of organic produce - mainly to EU countries.
Supply
Position
Twelve companies are involved in the production and the export of
organically grown produce. Large amounts of land are being certified
for organic agriculture, so as to increase the supply base to enter
new markets.
The certification is carried out by international agencies accredited
to International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM).
Major Markets
Germany, Australia, UK, Japan, Canada and France.
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