NOTICE: Hard copies of the Australian New Crops Newsletter are available from the publisher, Dr Rob Fletcher. Details of availability are included in the
Advice on Publications Available.The following notes have been extracted, with the authors' permission from a series of Agnotes, most of which were developed by Ian Knox, of the Oz Rural Web site (http://www.ozrural.com), for the database of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, which can also be accessed through the NRE Web site (http://www.nre.vic.gov.au).
Product
Essential oils are volatile materials (named after the French 'essence' not the English 'essential') extracted from plants or seed, usually by steam distillation. They are used as flavours and fragrances for food, soap, detergents, perfumes, lotions, etc.
The ten major essential oil crops account for 80% of the world market for essential oils.
The major essential oil world crops are citrus (USA, Brazil, Mexico), mint oils such as peppermint (USA), spearmint (USA) and cornmint (China, India, South America) and lemon fragrance oils such as citronella, lemongrass and Litsea cubeba (China, India, South America).
Eucalyptus oil is produced in Brazil, China and South Africa, as well as in Australia.
Cedarwood oil is confined to North America as a by-product of the timber industry.
The clove industry is confined to Indonesia.
The remaining 20% of the world essential oil market comprises over 150 crops. Most current essential oil producing countries, apart from the USA, have low labour costs.
The major consumers of essential oils are the USA (40%), Western Europe (30%) and Japan (7%).
Production requirements are described in the Agriculture Note available through http://www.ozrural.com or http://www.nre.vic.gov.au
Marketing
Traditionally, producers sell essential oils to flavour and fragrance houses who may value-add to the product before selling to a food processor or pharmaceutical, soap or toothpaste company. Traders, agents and brokers can also investigate market niches and may buy directly from the producers or sell directly to the flavour houses or end user.
As producers grow in size, end users have recently tended to deal directly with them more often. As well, R&D undertaken by the major flavour houses has become more centralised, with the development of new flavours, mixes etc. in response to the changing tastes and preferences of the consumer. End users also request made-to-order products from the flavour houses.
More pro-active producers hence attempt to monitor the needs of the end users as well as the new products of the flavour houses. Traders and brokers can handle large quantities of oil quickly but are not the ideal long term arrangement.
Large scale essential oil production in Australia would need to be targeted overseas and would be determined principally by quality. It is difficult for new suppliers to enter the market. The economics of a small, niche market enterprise could be quite lucrative so long as the end user is also closely involved.
For further information, contact:
Bush Boake Allen Aust Ltd
310 Dandenong Valley Highway
Dandenong Victoria 3175
Telephone: 03 9768 3668
Facsimile: 03 9768 3652
Bronson and Jacobs Pty Ltd
Parkview Drive, Australia Centre
Homebush NSW 2140
Telephone: 02 9394 3288
Facsimile: 02 9394 3222
Essential Oils of Tasmania Pty Ltd
82 Browns Road
Kingston Tasmania 7050
Telephone: 03 6229 4222
Vicmint Partners Pty Ltd
RMB 2045
Kooringal Park Lane
Meadow Creek Victoria 3678
Telephone: 03 5727 9228
Farm Diversification Information Service
Department of Natural Resources and Environment
Bendigo, Victoria 3550
Telephone: 1800 150 515 or 03 5430 4444
References
Hyde, KW (Ed)
New Rural Industries - A Handbook for Farmers and Investors
Available from the Rural Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC)
Kingston, ACT 2600
Telephone: 02 6272 4539
Facsimile: 02 6272 5877
Email: rirdc@netinfo.com.au
Web site: http://www.rirdc.gov.au
Price: AUD40+8 (postage); AUD40+14 (postage overseas)
The chapter on peppermint by Lee Peterson and Fred Bienvenu is available from:
http://www.rirdc.gov.au/pub/handbook/peppermint.html
The chapter on spearmint by Lee Peterson and Fred Bienvenu is available from:
http://www.rirdc.gov.au/pub/handbook/spearmint.html
Essential Oil from the Bendigo Region
Available from DNRE Bendigo
Price: AUD15
Any claims made by authors in the Australian New Crops Newsletter are presented by the Editors in good faith. Readers would be wise to critically examine the circumstances associated with any claims to determine the applicability of such claims to their specific set of circumstances. This material can be reproduced, with the provision that the source and the author (or editors, if applicable) are acknowledged and the use is for information or educational purposes. Contact with the original author is probably wise since the material may require updating or amendment if used in other publications. Material sourced from the Australian New Crops Newsletter cannot be used out of context or for commercial purposes not related to its original purpose in the newsletter
Contact: Dr Rob Fletcher, School of Land and Food, The University of Queensland Gatton College, 4345; Telephone: 07 5460 1311 or 07 5460 1301; Facsimile: 07 5460 1112; International facsimile: 61 7 5460 1112; Email:
r.fletcher@mailbox.uq.edu.au[
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GK; latest update 17 October 2001 by: RF