COMMODITY PROFILE MENTHA OIL

Mentha is an aromatic herb plant having pleasant odour leaves and is classified as an industrial crop. Mentha cuttings are sown in the month of December and harvested during March-April. The end product of Mentha oil is extracted from the mint leaves by processing and steam distillation. Mentha oil arrives in market in the month of June-July. Menthol is the major derivative product of Mentha oil. Majority of the oil is converted into menthol and it is considered as one of the basic uses of mint oil. Presently India is the largest producer of Mentha oil in world contributing about 73% of total production, and rest is contributed by China (18%) followed by Brazil and US.

Economic Importance Mentha oil is used for several purposes like in the food, perfumery, flavouring and pharmaceutical industry. It is used in manufacturing of products like lozenges, toothpaste, pain balm, cold balm etc. Strong industrial growth over two decades and increasing off-take from tobacco industry has pushed up the consumption of menthol. Crop Seasonality Mentha is an annual crop. Mentha cuttings are sown in the month of December and harvested during March-April. The end product of Mentha oil is extracted from the mint leaves by steam distillation process. Mentha oil arrives in market in the month of June July. Once Mentha is planted; it can be cut twice to thrice in one season crop.

Mentha Crop Calendar Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Mentha

Sowing period Harvesting period Arrival period

Global Scenario
Mentha oil production is increasing substantially since last couple of years with more contribution from India. Global output has touched 30,000 tons during 2007. However, consumption has shown steady growth over a period of time. In recent years, the global output has firmed up further and the output from India alone estimated close to 32,000 tons in 2009-10.

Fig-1: Mentha Oil Production and Consumption in World

Domestic Scenario

Fig-2: Mentha Oil Production in India (in Tons)

35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

Source: Trade sources Note: * Indicates estimated India produces about 27,600 tons of mentha crude oil per annum (avg. for last five years). The output is increasing in recent years and a record production close to 32,000 tons is estimated for the year 2009-10. The large scale commercial cultivation of Mentha is done in at UP ( Bilaspur , Rampur , Chandausi, Sambhal, Barabanki , Bareilly , Sitapur etc.) , Punjab (Jalandhar), Haryana (Ambala) , Himachal & Bihar (Muzuffarpur).

20

09

Domestic Consumption of Mentha Oil

Consumption of Mentha Oil In India
6000

Quantity (MT)

5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 India

19 93

19 95

19 97

19 99

20 01

20 03

20 05

20 07

Year

Fig-3: Menthol Share in World Consumption 20% 21%

19% India China Europe USA others

8% 32%

Consumption of natural menthol has increased significantly in India (with the share of about 32%) in recent years. Strong industrial growth over two decades and increasing off-take from tobacco industry has pushed up the consumption of menthol in India. However, in other major consuming counties like China (with the share of about 21%) and Europe (with the share of about 20%), consumption is almost stagnant.

20 09

Exports Fig-4: Mint Products Exports from India

24000 21000 18000 15000 12000 9000 6000 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09

Source: Spices Board of India India exports about 16,500 tons of mentha per annum (average for last five years). It has recorded as high as 21,100 tons in 2007-08. Exports of mint products from India are increasing over the years, which include Menthol flakes, Menthol crystals mint oils. This could mainly be attributed to rising overseas demand for Indian produce. The major destinations for India includes countries such as Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, UK, USA, etc. Before 2001, India was not a significant player in this market. After 2002 onwards India became a major supplier of mentha oil in the world. Details of the Storage Facilities with ICEX Deliveries at ICEX can be made at ICEX warehouses in Delhi ( consumption / storage centre), Chandausi (Production centre, UP) and Barabanki ( Production Centre, UP) and will accepting material and providing delivery facilities at these locations , as per contract specifications, at its accreditated warehouses. (Please note that the minimum delivery lot is of 2 drums of 180 kgs)

Exports in tons

Prices in Rs./kg

Price
1000.00 900.00 800.00 700.00 600.00 500.00 400.00 300.00 200.00 100.00 0.00

200

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600

800

Source: Agmarknet
24/04/2004 13/08/2005 2/12/2005 23/03/2006 20/07/2006 13/11/2006 5/3/2007 25/06/2007
Date

Price Volatility (over years)

Mentha Oil prices at Chandausi market

16/10/2007 6/2/2008 28/05/2008 16/09/2008 7/1/2009 29/04/2009 19/08/2009 9/12/2009 31/03/2010

3/ 5 7/ / 20 11 5/ 2 01 /5 00 3/ / 20 1 5 0 7/ / 20 1 11 5/ 2 02 /5 00 3/ / 20 2 5 0 7/ / 20 2 11 5/ 2 03 /5 00 3/ / 20 3 5 0 7/ / 20 3 11 5/ 2 04 /5 00 3/ / 20 4 5 0 7/ / 20 4 11 5/ 2 05 /5 00 3/ / 20 5 5 0 7/ / 20 5 11 5/ 2 06 /5 00 3/ / 20 6 5 0 7/ / 20 6 11 5/ 2 07 /5 00 3/ / 20 7 5 0 7/ / 20 7 11 5/ 2 08 /5 00 3/ / 20 8 5 0 7/ / 20 8 5/ 09 20 09