Industry Use of Essential Oils

[Guest guest]

*Howdy Geraldine,*

 

> Many, many, (dare I say many again) years ago I was taught that

> approximately 95% of the worlds production of essential oils were for the

> Flavor and Fragrance Industry and that only 5% of world production was

> produced for the Medical Industry.

>

> My questions are: Was this ever true;

>

 

When the ancient process of extraction of plant oils began it was obviously

not for industries that didn't exist but later it is fair to say that as far

as commercial production goes the Lion's Share of oils produced were for the

above industries .. but I don't think the percentages you give are

necessarily true .. probably more like 80% and 20% if we look at the overall

averages .. more or less so if we look at particular essential oils. And

we must include in the Medical Industry the alternative-complementary

treatment industry.

 

 

> if so, does it still hold true and lastly if it is true what is the

> difference?

>

 

Difference in what? Quality? There is a difference between what should

be the terms used in Aromatherapy .. and Therapeutic Grade is NOT one of

them. Probably easier (and safer) to say Commercial Grade (which in some

cases could also include Perfume Grade) and Aromatherapy Grade. Many

Natural Perfumers (like Anya's group) will use Aromatherapy Grade (in most

cases) to produce their products. Commercial Grade may or may not be

manipulated .. for example perfume companies want a standard lavender .. so

their exists a standard 40/42 Lavender .. and there is a lot of redistilled

Peppermint that has a reduced level of terpenes .. and so forth.

 

Rose and Jasmine for example .. are not manipulated at the still and

probably 90% of production goes to the Fragrance industry .. Anise Seed ..

probably 75% or so to the alcoholic beverage industry .. Peppermint ..

probably 90% or so to the flavorings industry .. but there are some oils

that had long been used by locals for self medication but had no great

commercial demand until demand was created by the producers and by the

alternative-complementary industry .. like Manuka, Tea Tree, Oregano, some

woods .. and others.

 

It would take a great amount of research to come up with any fairly accurate

figures. We would have to look at the export figures for various countries

and determine who the buyers were. I just like to use the terms I used

above .. the Lion's Share goes to the above industries .. Aromatherapy is

(in most cases) uses a small amount of most oils. Unless you are working

on an academic research project and have funds to lay out .. that is about

as close as you can get.

 

There are publications published for various conferences that provide a lot

of this information .. I have some from a conference held in Istanbul back

in the mid-1990s .. but they are boring to most folks and costly .. and

within a short time the data becomes history. Back in those days I owned a

Turkish company and rather than give the government 50% of my profits I

spent a lot of money on official foolishness. ;-)

 

> Thanks, Geraldine

Welcome you are .. have a good one .. and keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch ... http://www.AV-AT.com <http://www.av-at.com/>