Table 7.4 summarizes the most economically important NWFPs in world trade, totalling about US$ 11 billion annually. These products originate from a wide variety of geographic sources, but a significant portion come from the forests of Southeast Asia, especially fruits, resins, fungi, wild honey, medicines, aphrodisiacs, sandalwood, bamboo and rattan ware. China processes and trades in more products from wild sources than probably any other country, and now dominates world trade in NWFPs (Iqbal, 1995). Other major suppliers to world markets include India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Brazil.
Table 7.4: NWFPs most prominent in world trade*, with three main markets
Item
|
Total imports (US$ million) |
EEC |
USA |
Japan | |
|
Other plants used in pharmacy |
689.92 |
171.23 |
88.59 |
91.96 |
|
Other fresh fruits (including, i.a.jujubes) |
685.22 |
263.22 |
51.30 |
127.91 |
|
Natural rubber latex in primary forms |
519.92 |
109.24 |
84.08 |
37.09 |
|
Essential oils, resins |
312.52 |
95.53 |
108.54 |
22.43 |
|
Ginseng roots |
389.34 |
11.90 |
11.10 |
39.89 |
|
Mats, mattings and screens of vegetable materials |
215.95 |
22.03 |
17.13 |
135.12 |
|
Other live animals |
183.92 |
61.67 |
43.48 |
8.05 |
|
Natural honey |
268.18 |
143.39 |
53.92 |
35.12 |
|
Edible products of animal origin |
80.38 |
6.75 |
4.02 |
1.46 |
|
Ambergris, castoreum, civet, musk |
134.08 |
44.48 |
3.02 |
42.92 |
|
Brazil nuts, fresh or chilled |
44.34 |
22.11 |
16.78 |
0.20 |
|
Walnuts in shell |
115.33 |
91.11 |
0.03 |
1.26 |
|
Walnuts without shells |
100.56 |
37.68 |
0.27 |
13.03 |
|
Chestnuts |
109.95 |
2.01 |
10.46 |
64.14 |
|
Other nuts |
222.91 |
21.01 |
91.68 |
24.39 |
|
Mucilages, thickeners derived from locust beans, locust bean seed or guar seeds |
141.33 |
34.02 |
45.35 |
25.95 |
|
Cinnamon and cinnamon-tree flowers |
95.62 |
10.05 |
28.91 |
2.58 |
|
Nutmeg |
24.16 |
12.56 |
2.51 |
2.58 |
|
Other spices |
48.34 |
5.65 |
20.85 |
2.22 |
|
Flour and meal of sago |
18.06 |
0.77 |
0.92 |
0.33 |
|
Liquorice roots |
33.45 |
5.74 |
9.39 |
7.54 |
|
Locust beans |
22.39 |
18.30 |
0.45 |
0.18 |
|
Lac |
25.28 |
4.67 |
9.37 |
2.38 |
|
Gum arabic |
101.31 |
53.74 |
18.89 |
6.18 |
|
Other natural gums, resins, balsams |
92.75 |
29.95 |
11.00 |
2.14 |
|
Liquorice sap |
57.27 |
22.79 |
15.48 |
5.38 |
|
Bamboos |
37.56 |
12.57 |
3.13 |
7.58 |
|
Rattans |
118.98 |
13.75 |
5.44 |
6.53 |
|
Other vegetable materials for plaiting |
39.67 |
20.90 |
4.73 |
8.33 |
|
Kapok |
11.92 |
1.45 |
0.73 |
5.23 |
|
Vegetable materials esp. for brooms, brushes |
28.11 |
10.20 |
8.59 |
3.96 |
|
Raw veg. materials esp. for dyeing, tanning |
31.06 |
9.40 |
2.03 |
2.48 |
|
Other vegetable products (doum palm flour, Panama bark, bidi leaves, etc.) |
63.85 |
18.43 |
11.49 |
20.29 |
|
Tung oil and its fractions |
49.59 |
4.53 |
9.36 |
11.86 |
|
Jojoba oil and its fractions |
11.59 |
7.61 |
2.29 |
0.42 |
|
Other fixed vegetable fats and fractions |
98.90 |
33.73 |
8.67 |
10.06 |
|
Vegetable waxes |
44.02 |
13.49 |
13.08 |
6.13 |
|
Beeswax, other insect wax |
19.14 |
8.65 |
2.38 |
2.77 |
|
Maple sugar and maple syrup |
43.63 |
9.64 |
28.09 |
1.30 |
|
Quebracho extract |
51.93 |
20.66 |
6.36 |
0.98 |
|
Wattle extract |
63.87 |
15.41 |
8.07 |
5.49 |
|
Tanning extracts of vegetable origin |
20.51 |
1.54 |
7.59 |
0.66 |
|
Colouring matter of veg. and animal origin |
152.08 |
32.21 |
31.80 |
12.94 |
|
Resinoids |
61.35 |
7.92 |
34.88 |
3.01 |
|
Concentrates of essential oils in fats |
39.95 |
9.23 |
7.30 |
3.71 |
|
Gum, wood or sulphate turpentine oils |
31.23 |
12.16 |
2.12 |
7.84 |
|
Balata, gutta-percha |
26.72 |
5.25 |
4.87 |
6.71 |
|
Corks and stoppers of natural cork |
157.16 |
17.45 |
59.26 |
6.18 |
|
Other articles of natural cork |
13.71 |
2.81 |
3.05 |
1.30 |
* Categorized by Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes.
(Source: Iqbal, 1995)
A striking pattern in international trade of NWFPs is that developing countries are the major producers and exporters of raw or semi-processed products; and developed, industrialized countries are the major importers (Iqbal, 1995). Just three markets (the European Community, the United States and Japan) comprise about 60 percent of the world trade. Table 7.5 shows the direction of trade for some of the most-traded products.
Table 7.5: Directions of international trade for major NWFPs
|
Product |
Main source countries |
Main markets |
|
Brazil nuts |
Brazil, Bolivia, Peru |
USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Canada |
|
Pine nuts |
China, Afghanistan, Pakistan |
Middle Eastern countries |
|
Pignolia nuts |
Spain, Portugal |
USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, EEC |
|
Walnuts |
China, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan |
EEC, Japan, Canada, Switzerland |
|
Morels |
Pakistan, India, Afghanistan |
France, Switzerland, Germany |
|
Pine mushrooms |
Chile |
USA, France, Peru, Netherlands, Switzerland |
|
Bamboo shoots |
China, Thailand, Indonesia |
USA, Japan, UK, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, France, Korea |
|
Sago |
Indonesia, Malaysia |
Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore |
|
Shea nuts |
West and central African countries |
Japan, Sweden, EEC |
|
Nutmeg and mace |
Indonesia, Grenada |
USA, EEC, Japan |
|
Cinnamon and cassia |
Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Madagascar |
USA, EEC, Japan |
|
Gum arabic |
Sudan, Nigeria |
USA, EEC (UK and Germany), Switzerland, Scandinavia, Japan |
|
Gum tragacanth |
Iran, Turkey |
EEC, USA, Japan, CIS* |
|
Gum karaya |
India |
USA, Japan, France, Germany, UK, Belgium, UAE, Netherlands |
|
Carob gum |
Spain, Italy, Portugal |
Western Europe, USA, Japan |
|
Annatto |
Peru, Kenya, Brazil |
USA, EEC, Japan |
|
Gum rosin |
China, Indonesia, Portugal |
Japan, Western Europe |
|
Rattan |
Malaysia, Indonesia, Viet Nam, China |
Europe, USA, Egypt, Japan, Thailand |
|
Bamboo |
China, Southeast Asian countries |
France, Germany, Netherlands |
|
Cork |
Portugal, Spain, Morocco |
EC countries |
|
Lac |
India, Thailand |
Germany, Egypt, Indonesia, USA |
|
Natural honey |
CIS, China, USA, Mexico, Turkey |
Germany, USA, UK, Japan |
|
Beeswax |
China, Tanzania, New Zealand, Canada, Netherlands |
EC countries |
|
Mulberry and non-mulberry silk |
China, India, Brazil |
EC countries, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong |
|
Liquorice roots |
China, Western Asian countries, Russia |
USA, Japan, EEC |
|
Ginseng roots |
Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, EEC |
USA, Korea, Canada, China |
|
Medicinal plants |
China, Korea, USA, India, Chile, Egypt, Argentina, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Zaire, Czech Republic, Albania |
Japan, USA, Germany, France, Italy, Malaysia, Spain, UK |
|
Essential oils |
China, India, Indonesia, Brazil |
EEC, USA, Japan |
|
Cochineal |
Peru, Canary Islands |
EEC, USA, Japan |
|
Truffles |
France, Italy |
USA |
|
Birds' nests |
Malaysia |
Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan |
|
Bidi leaves |
India |
Pakistan, Sri Lanka |
* Commonwealth of Independent States (part of States of the former USSR).
(Source: Iqbal, 1995)
9. Cosmetics from NWFPs in Myanmar. (Photo: M. Kashio)
10. Non-wood handicrafts in Iran. (Photo: L. Gronchi)
11. Sugar tapped from sugar palm is widely used in Myanmar. (Photo: M. Kashio)
Importing and exporting countries use tariffs and other measures to influence trade. Developing countries commonly tax exports to raise government revenue. Industrialized countries use tariffs, standards and safety regulations to control NWFP imports. In general, industrialized countries keep tariffs on NWFPs very low in order to ensure a sustained supply for their markets. These countries usually feel no need for "protection" against competition because they do not produce these products and because collecting and processing NWFPs is often a labour-intensive sector for which they do not aim to protect jobs (Iqbal, 199:5).
