Maçaranduba

Common names: maçaranduba, maçaranduba verdadeira.

Description and uses

Sometimes described as an inferior balata, maçaranduba is collected as a latex from trees of the same genus as genuine balata (Manilkara). M. huberi (Ducke) Stand./Chev., is generally considered to be the source of maçaranduba.

The latex is turned into balls and blocks in much the same way as sorva and balata. Maçaranduba, like sorva, has been used mainly for chewing gum manufacture, though in slightly different formulations.

Demand trends

With the development of synthetic gums for making chewing gum, the international market for maçaranduba has declined sharply.

Recorded exports from Brazil have historically been low, and virtually stopped in the mid-1980s. allegedly because of United States concern over the destructive way in which the gum was extracted. Trade sources indicate that the current level of exports is 20-30 t per annum, been several hundred t in the early 1980s.

It is understood that the Brazilian chewing gum industry does not use natural gums, and no significant shift in this direction is anticipated. Neither domestic nor international markets are likely to offer prospects for substantial increases in absorption of maçaranduba.

Supply trends

Maçaranduba production data were not available for other countries but Brazil is thought to be the major supplier of this minor commodity.

Table 2 indicates a general decline in Brazilian production over the last 15 years. Data from earlier years suggest that production peaked in 1965, at around I 000 t. Since 1982, all recorded production of maçaranduba, like balata, has come from Pará.

Maçaranduba wood is very dense and resistant to biodeterioration and is much used for making railway sleepers. The loss of trees for this purpose may mean that there are fewer from which to collect latex, but there is no evidence that this has been a cause of declining maçaranduba production or that it would prevent an upturn in production to meet demand if this were needed.

Jutaicica

Common names: jutaicica, jatoba, jutai, jutai-acu, Brazilian copal.

Description and uses

Jutaicica is a natural exudate which collects as large irregular masses near the base of trees of certain Hymenaea species (family Leguminosae) which are found in most parts of Brazil as well as Venezuela and Guyana. H. courbaril L. is the most important source of jutaicica. H. stilbocarpa Hayne furnishes a similar product. It is employed in the paint and varnish industry to enhance heat tolerance of the applied product. Its use in glass making appears to have ceased.

Demand trends

There appears to be no international market for jutaicica. The Brazilian market is very small (probably less than 20 t per annum), and declining.

Supply trends

No information was available on the production of this minor commodity in countries other than Brazil. The IBGE data (Table 2) suggest that annual production has been less than 50 t over the last 15 years. Although jutaicica is still traded in small amounts, it does not appear in official statistics after 1985.

Official data suggest that Para has been the main source of jutaicica, with a modest contribution from Maranhão. Goias and other non-Amazonian States such as São Paulo and Bahia have occasionally produced small amounts.

Coquirana

Common names: coquirana, ucuquirana.

Description and uses

Although one Brazilian trader described it as a hard resin, similar in appearance to jutaicica, literature sources state that it is balata-like, derived from a latex, and this would accord with the fact that it comes from a tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is often referred to as an inferior "balata".

It is obtained from Ecclinusa balata Ducke, a medium-to-large tree found along the tributaries of the Amazon. The applications of coquirana are presumed to be similar to those of balata.

Demand trends

There appears to be no international market for coquirana. No traders were found who dealt with this material and it was not identifiable in trade statistics. There appears to be no current Brazilian market for this product.

Supply trends

IBGE data for the period 1978-91 (Table 2) record production only for 1979 and 1980, when it was less than 10 t per annum. Earlier data from the same source suggest that total annual production previously varied between 100 and 300 t. Production in 1979 and ]980 was all from Amazonas.

Breu Branco

Common names: breu branco, almecega, jauaricica, Brazilian elemi.

Description and uses

Breu branco is obtained from the trunk of certain Protium species (family Burseraceae). It is a soft resin with an aromatic odour, but solidifies to form a hard, whitish or light gray-green mass. It is collected from P. icicariba (DC) March and a few related species originating in northern Brazil.

Breu branco's main use is as an incense for religious purposes. It is said to be used in a variety of other ways: in the manufacture of varnishes, as a perfume fixative, for caulking boats and for producing smoke to repel mosquitos.

Demand trends

No international market for breu branco has been identified. The Brazilian market demand is put. at most, at a few tens of t annually. Breu branco does not appear in any official trade statistics, although one trader in Belém claimed to deal in tens of t per annum and another in Santarém up to 2 t annually. The most important Brazilian market for breu branco is in the north-east, with Belém being an important trading point.

Supply trends

All production of breu branco is from wild trees but no production data are available on it from Brazil or any other source.

Derris

Common names: derris, timbo, barbasco, cube (Peru).

Description and uses

The term "derris" (or any of its synonyms) is used to describe either the formulated insecticide or the ground or whole roots of the plants from which it is obtained: Derris or Lonchocarpus species (Leguminosae).

D. urucu (Killip and Smith) Macbr. and D. nicou (Killip and Smith) Macbr. (syn. D. utilis?) are considered to be the main sources of Brazilian timbo.

Derris/Lonchocarpus roots have long been used by Indian communities in the Amazon Region as a fish toxicant and this has also been the largest market for the powdered root and its preparations, both in Brazil and in North America. It finds secondary export markets in insecticidal applications, particularly as a garden care product.

The active chemical, rotenone, is concentrated in the roots of the plants. Bundles of roots are the first form in which timbo is traded. For subsequent sale, including export, the roots are ground to a powder, the form in which it is most commonly used. The term timbo is sometimes also applied to Tephrosia species (Leguminosae), some of which also contain rotenoids.

Demand trends

The most important international market is the USA, where the major use has been fish stock control. This sub-market is declining as publicly funded fisheries management programmes suffer cutbacks, and environmental regulations become increasingly restrictive. The other US outlet is as a garden insecticide. The US market for derris powder is probably less than 500 t per annum, and may be significantly less at the present time. It is entirely serviced by supplies from Peru, which are currently priced at US$ 2.90-3.30/kg New York (as it has been since early 1991).

The European market for derris is much smaller since its application is primarily in garden care. The UK market, for example, is probably no more than 5 t per annum; all supplies are of Peruvian material (7% rotenone) and valued at less than £ 50,000.

In the Brazilian market, derris has been much used in the past to kill predatory fish such as piranha during the establishment phase of reservoirs that have been built in the drier northeastern States, as well as for cleaning breeding tanks for shrimps and fish. However, current opinion in Brazil is that it is no longer used in this way (having been replaced, according to one source, by lime).

Traditionally, derris has been used by Indian populations to control or catch river fish (which stuns, rather than poisons the fish). No information was available on the extent of this practice today, though, officially, it is banned.

Supply trends

At the outset of the Second World War, Brazil, Peru and Malaysia were the major suppliers of derris to the world market. The United States was the main importer. Loss of supplies from the Far East in 1942 led the USA to offer financial incentives to South American producers to encourage the establishment of large-scale plantations. Peru responded most quickly and in 1946 the USA imported almost 5 200 t of crude or powdered roots, 95 % of which was from Peru. However. with the development of DOT the market began to decline almost immediately.

Today, world supplies of derris are still dominated by Peru, though this may have more to do with the fact that it is able to supply powder with the high rotenone content (7-8%) preferred by the trade than for historical reasons. Production capacity in Peru is believed to be adequate for the total world demand.

IBGE data for Brazilian derris (timbo) indicates an annual average production of 237 t in the period 1954-60, declining to 65 t for 1961-67. Table 2 shows IBGE, data for the period 1978-91, although 1985 is the last year in which timbo appears in the statistics. The eight-year annual average is 35 t.

Pará has always been the main producing State in Brazil, and in the years since 1978 (Table 2) it has been the sole producer. In the 1950s and '60s, Maranhão, Amazonas and Amapá also made some contribution to total production.

In Brazil, although there may still be very small production and use of timbo by Indian communities, there is now no organised production on a significant scale. A leading producer of timbo in Belem (believed to be the largest when in operation) ceased production a few years ago after many generations in the business. Imposition of a tax on the product by IBAMA was said to have contributed to the plant's closure. The only other timbo producer that could be identified had long ceased production and had had great difficulty hi selling accumulated stocks.

Marketing systems

The supply of derris to international markets seems to be highly concentrated in a few companies. This was the case in Brazil, before the plant closed, where the company had been operating as the only significant supplier for forty years. In Peru, one company is said to dominate production, though end-users in the USA indicated that the product is offered by several traders. Further information on the industry in Peru was not available.

Other natural insecticides

Quassia, ryania, sabadilla.

Brazilian traders questioned knew of no production of insecticidal plants other than Derris - such as quassia (Quassia amara L.), ryania (Ryania spp.) and sabadilla (Schoenocaulon spp.). Similarly, no research organizations were identified that have undertaken work on these plants.

Quassia and ryania have been discussed relatively recently, along with other plant-derived insecticides, in the scientific literature. Their use was reported to be very limited, due in part to registration difficulties in potential end-user countries.

Conclusions

The study has highlighted the lack of reliable market data that exists for extractivist-type NWFPs. From the information that has been acquired it is concluded that:

1. Markets for most of the commodities studied have undergone a substantial decline from former levels.
2. Only a very limited developmental potential exists for these commodities in the Amazon Region.
3. An investment in further research, particularly in relation to agroforestry interventions, does not merit a priority for any of the commodities since the resultant benefits are likely to have a very restricted socio-economic impact.

Gums and resins

All seven products covered in the study have suffered to varying degrees from competition by synthetics. It is this, rather than supply side problems, which has led to an erosion of market share.

No recovery of international market share is foreseeable for several of the products. There is also an apparent decline in use in the major regional market of Brazil.

The only products with an expected continuing and significant trade are copaiba and sorva. Although there has been some recent felling of trees from which copaiba is obtained (for veneer production), there is no immediate threat to the wild tree resource. The same is believed to be true for sorva. Any future modest increase in demand for the exudates could be met by expanding the scope of traditional, "extractivist" harvesting. Moreover, the economics of their production by formal cultivation is unlikely to be attractive without a very substantial research and development programme aimed at improving productivity.

There is presently a high degree of uncertainty over the prospects for creating a new international market for copaiba as a pharmaceutical, a hope expressed by several organizations in Brazil. No active research or promotion effort is warranted on this topic by Brazilian bodies or donor agencies since the international pharmaceutical industry is constantly examining the potential for new product lines. The position on the market demand and the natural supply base for copaiba should be reviewed in approximately five years time.

Improvements are undoubtedly possible to methods of harvesting and primary processing for copaiba and sorva. However, this would require a significant research effort which would be of questionable ultimate benefit because of difficulties in extension and, therefore, effective implementation.

Natural insecticides

The findings on Derris are particularly disappointing since it is a crop with a proven ease of cultivation, suitable both for informal extractivist systems and for more intensive agroforestry interventions, and it gives early returns. Production and export will remain of significance to Peru but the contracting international market precludes the expansion of exports by other countries in the Amazon Region. Any potential for development outside Peru will rest on growth of the domestic market. However, prospects do not appear promising on the basis of the current situation in the largest regional market, Brazil.

There are no signs at present that the other natural insecticides have any prospect of gaining significant export markets. In developed country markets. these natural products would face intense competition from aggressively marketed synthetic alternatives and may also encounter difficulties in being accepted by regulatory bodies.

Rosewood oil

Common name for product: rosewood oil, oleo pau rosa, bois de rose.

Background to the Project

Rosewood oil is a long established ingredient in top-of-the-range perfumes and prior to the advent of synthetic linalol (syn. linalool) it was an important natural source of this isolate. Production is based on the destructive felling of wild growing Aniba species (evergreens of the Lauraceae family) and the subsequent steam distillation of comminuted trunk wood.

Aromatic Aniba species are indigenous to the northern and western areas of Greater Amazonia. Commercial distillation of rosewood oil has occurred over the twentieth century in the Guianas, Colombia, Peru and Brazil. The last named was always the major source and it has been the sole supplier to the market since the 1970s.

In Brazil, rosewood (pau rosa) oil has been produced selectively from two species, Aniba rosoeodora and A. ducke, in the States of Amazonas and Para. Although legislation has been enacted over the years to control the extent and form of exploitation of these wild species. severe depletion of the natural germplasm base has occurred through the activities of the Brazilian rosewood oil industry and other trends in forest exploitation have put additional pressure on the natural resource. Rosewood is listed by the FAO as falling in the priority rank for conservation.

Over the last forty years, attempts have been made in Brazil by several research institutions and by the industry to develop the technology for the management of rosewood within the context of the natural forest. All of these efforts were unsuccessful for a variety of reasons.

The rosewood research, executed by FCAP as a sub-component of the ODA-funded Aromatic Plants Project, was formulated with the objective of re-examining the opportunities and constraints for the sustainable and economic cultivation of the principal species, A. rosaeodora on degraded forest land and in agroforestry systems. The work programme has included a survey of the current distribution of the species, the establishment of nurseries of germplasm from threatened natural provenances and preliminary investigation of the prospects for oil production by non-destructive harvesting of leaf by coppicing.

Uses

Rosewood oil possesses a characteristic aroma and has a high content of linalol. It has enjoyed continuous use as an ingredient in perfumery applications, especially in soaps where the strong top-note can be used to advantage. Until the advent of synthetic linalol, rosewood oil was employed also as a source of this compound for the production of its ester derivatives (linalyl acetate, etc) which are important components of less expensive fragrances and have some flavouring applications. Rosewood oil was formerly used also in medium price applications as a blending and strengthing ingredient in other linalol-containing essential oils, such as lavender and lavendin, and for the manufacture of superior fragrance quality linalyl acetate. Now, it has been displaced by the much cheaper Chinese Ho oils. particular the leaf oil. These oils are obtained from the Ho-sho tree (a C. camphora variety) and then rectified to enhance and standardise the linalol content.

Today, the main use of rosewood oil lies in the formulation of high value perfumes. There are, also, very small niche markets for the preparation of linalol derivatives, which ex. rosewood possess a special character, and in some aromotherapy formulations. In the latter application, however, it is evident already that there is a move toward Ho oils, not on the basis of price or quality but rather from environmental concerns over the present destructive form of rosewood oil production in Brazil.

Market demand

The world market for rosewood oil today is about 100 t per annum.

This compares with a combined South American export of around 300 t per annum immediately prior to World War II and exports from Brazil alone of some 500 t per annum in the 1960s.

Demand for rosewood oil, for which Brazil is now the only source, is reported by dealers and brokers in the major importing countries as stable; those who moved away from the use of rosewood oil in their formulations did so many years ago. However, any marked and prolonged upward move in the price of the oil above recent levels could adversely effect demand. Some of the top-of-the market perfumery houses have expressed concern over the destructive manner of producing rosewood oil and its possible effect on their image and on sales of rosewood oil based products. A transition to sustainable production of the oil would be welcomed by these major users.

Tables 3 and 4 show Brazilian export statistics for rosewood oil for the period 1980-92 and by country of destination in 1990, respectively. The United States is the principal importer, followed by Switzerland. Other import markets, in order of importance, include: France, West Germany, the Netherlands the UK, Spain and Argentina. Together these countries account for identifiable exports of approximately 70 t (1992).

Table 3: Recorded exports of Brazilian Rosewood Oil 1980-1992

Source: Brazilian country statistics

The scale of consumption of rosewood oil in fragrance products by the retail market in Brazil is uncertain. However, 20-30 t of oil are purchased annually by the fragrance sector, primarily Sao Paulo and Rio-based multinationals. It is likely that a large proportion of the procured oil is subsequently exported either per se, or as a formulated compound. but these shipments cannot be distinguished from other products in export statistics. The multinational parent of one of the Sao Paulo buyers is, in fact. the greatest consumer of rosewood oil worldwide.

Competing products

There are no direct alternatives to Brazilian rosewood oil in established, top-of-the-range perfumery formulations. Replacement of rosewood oil by another oil would completely change the product and require a costly marketing campaign for the new product line.

In the middle ground of perfumery applications, rosewood oil has already been displaced by Chinese Ho oils, primarily on the basis of price. Re-establishment of traditional rosewood oil in this market would require a mayor reduction in its price.

Table 4: Recorded exports of Rosewood Oil by destination 1990

Source: Brazilian country statistics

The present consumption of Chinese Ho oils in Western markets is estimated by the trade as about 80 t per annum.

Supply and prices

Production of rosewood oil in the Guyanas, Peru and Colombia declined to insignificance after the advent of synthetic linalol. Brazil is now the only supplier to the market.

Production of rosewood oil in Brazil has been fairly closely geared to demand since its creation of the modern industry in the 1930s. A fall in production and exports from a level of some 500 t per annum started in the 1960s when synthetic linalol became available. By 1970, exports had fallen to 300 t. Further market share loss occurred with changes in compounders' formulations and the penetration of Chinese Howood and, particularly, -leaf oil.

The current production level of some 100 t per annum has held for several years. Annual fluctuations in production levels are mainly the result of differences in rainfall and river levels and, hence, the accessibility of the wood resource which is entirely wild-growing trees. Attempts to cultivate rosewood or to replant strips of forest with self-sown seedlings have not been successful.

Harvesting of wild rosewood trees is now concentrated on a number of well-defined tributaries of the Amazon, mainly in Amazonas State but also in some southern areas of Para State.

The wood is extracted by teams who are commissined by distillers to scour areas of forest for rosewood trees. The extraction process is labour-intensive, poorly paid, destructive (of rosewood trees and other trees in the exit "corridor") and inefficient.

Depletion of the natural resource over the years, combined with environmental controls imposed by IBAMA, has resulted in a reduction in the availability of readily accessible stands of trees and greater difficulty and cost in the collection operation. Nevertheless, producers are confident that the present production level of approximately 100 t per annum can be maintained in the medium-term.

Looking beyond the next 10-20 years, there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that there is no new generation of processors and labourers poised to take over from the aging population involved in rosewood oil production now (mainly because of lifestyle reasons). This suggests that levels of production will decline.

No reliable information is available on volumes or trends in production of Ho oils in China. It is understood, however, that the industry is based on harvesting of wild trees. Leaf oil production can continue for many years without detriment to the tree but wood oil production is by its nature destructive.

Brazilian rosewood oil prices have ranged between US$ 18 and 32/kg, fob over the period 19871993. With fairly stable demand levels, any change in supply levels is immediately reflected in price. Prices in late 1993 (about US$ 23/kg) were lower than the previous year, and lower than prices anticipated by producers for 1994, given a temporary shortfall in wood supplies (which has arisen from low river levels).

Chinese Ho oils were quoted on the New York market in September 1993 at US$ 11/kg for wood and US$ 12/kg for leaf, both prices were 'spot' and for 90 per cent linalol grades.

Synthetic linalol prices at the same period were US$ 12/kg for Chinese material.

Conclusions on demand and supply

The market demand for traditional Brazilian rosewood oil should not contract further in the medium-term, provided that:

1. Prices do not rise excessively above recent levels of US$ 23/kg.
2. There are no extended periods of short supply.
3. Pressure from conservation lobbies does not force image-conscious users in the perfumery industry to forgo its use.

It is probable that the traditional, 'extractivist' industry will contract over the next two decades as a result of the high costs of collection of raw material, combined with the reluctance of young people to engage in arduous activities in the forest.

The long-term future or the industry will he dependent upon moving to a sustainable form of oil production which involves significantly lower costs and provides a product of an acceptable quality and a 'green' image.

Scope may exist for creating a market of a 'new' type of rosewood oil, comparable to Chinese Ho-leaf oil, which serves as a cheap natural source of linalol. This would need to compete at least initially both on price and quality with the Chinese product. It is not possible to predict the extent of sales until such a product is available for market testing and the likely production costs can be estimated.

Environmental and biodiversity issues

The major loss of the rosewood natural resource occurred prior to 1970 in Brazil and neighbouring countries.

The activities of the present industry in Brazil are on a much reduced scale and pose no threat of extinction of the species. Extensive areas of rosewood remain within the forest which are inaccessible and would be uneconomic to harvest. However, the extraction of some 10 000 t of rosewood trees annually results in a progressive erosion of the germplasm base and its diversity in accessible areas and also causes an unquantifiable amount of collateral environmental damage.

Most oil producers are far from being insensitive to environmental issues and, moreover, they would welcome the development of technology for sustainable management of rosewood. Several have tried unsuccessfully to establish 'plantations' within forest areas and now regard this approach as impractical.

Domestication and sustainable management research

The recent work by the Facultade do Ciencias Agrarias do Para has not established - nor was it expected in a four year period - to result in definitive conclusions on the practicability and economics of sustainable management of rosewood. However, it has successfully advanced knowledge on the species. Outputs of the work to date include:

1. The establishment of a nucleus germplasm collection.
2. Confirmation of a significant genetic variation between and within natural provenances and, consequently, a potential for improvement of biomass and oil productivity through selection;
3. Development of improved techniques for vegetative propagation of clonal material;
4. Improved specifications for successful implantation of seedlings and rooted cuttings in open field situations.
5. Demonstration of superior growth rates for young plants in open field situations over that of the traditional system of planting in cleared 'tunnels' within the forest.

If the initial field trials' growth performance is maintained, it may prove possible to harvest the trunkwood for distillation on a short rotation of 10 years or less.

A fair prospect appears to exist of a good response to coppicing or pollarding by young plants, possibly as early as the third year, for the production of leaf biomass. This form of management, together with an evaluation of the yields and marketability of leaf oil, will comprise an important element of the forward research programme.