International Trade of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants

Abstract

During a time period of more than 500 years the history of international trade of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) has witnessed numerous twists and turns according to human needs and societal preferences. The challenges facing the trade can be articulated as botanical identification, product and process documentation, and need for rural income generation in origins, as basis of international trade.In many countries the processing of plant extracts (vegetable oils, essential oils, solvent extracts for food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals) using plant raw material from wild collection, cultivation, horticulture and forestry has led to the bottleneck in commercialization of value added ingredients on global scale. The market development for MAPs, natural ingredients and final products are subject to continuous changes of legislation framework and market drivers.The demand for wild collected plant species is increasing by the day. At the same time wild collection has become a risk not only to nature, but as well to humans, due to disregard of process and product standards (Good Practices), resource -and risk management tool, amongst others. Likewise, cultivation and domestication is lacking a broad, international basis regarding understanding and definitions which leads in total to a dramatic shortage of raw plant material for value addition and trade - a worldwide issue.Process and product quality aspects got expanded by quality of documentation and (intercultural) communication in the context of international trade of MAPs. Not only the (cap) abilities on the seller's and buyer's side are crucial, but also the communication within the communities - knowledge management. For sustainable trade, rural income generation in the countries of origin and consumer safety cannot be ignored.Depending on the viewpoint MAPs as a whole trade sector is a forerunner in terms of strategic important natural resources. Trade promotion programs in Europe actively promote the value chains and secure their direct access to MAPs sources and natural ingredients by strengthening the producer, the exporter side in the partner country.International guidelines as well as national and regional legislation, which implement basically the Good Practices and can be certified by a private standard, represent the need for harmonization and cross-referencing in the sector.To subsume, the trade of MAPs and natural ingredients has overcome the technological bottlenecks from the past. The limitations of today's trade in MAPs and natural ingredients are principally the quality aspects such as product documentation, consumer safety and intercultural communication. The sustainable supply of raw material constitutes the principle bottleneck for the global trade.