Request for Assistance ** Geranium Oil

[Guest guest]

Hi Mayuraprabhu,

 

Just a few thoughts that might not make you smile but they might help

you to see the pitfalls inherent in going into an established field such

as production and distillation or aromatic crops.

 

Also, your request for assistance is unlikely to get many responses from

this list because the list is concerned with the use of essential oils,

not the production .. people on this list are end-users of products.

 

> I am Mayuraprabhu an unemployed Graduate, Having Ideas of

> Starting Up a Business ,in the known Field My Father Is a

> Agricultural Officer working for Government of Tamilnadu India. I

> Have seen many articles for wide need of Geranium oil and some

> Herbs,

 

There is a need for Pelargonium graveolens but that need is being filled

now .. from Turkey, China, France, Madagascar and some other countries.

To be successful entering a fixed market one must be able to provide a

higher quality product for a lower price .. not always easy .. but not

impossible either. It would take a lot of effort and many feasibility

studies to evaluate the potential for success or failure. Likewise, it

would take support of your government .. that is, unless you are willing

to take responsibility for losses that might be experienced by farmers

who would join you in this venture.

 

> My Place is best Suitable for this Plants as the climatic condition

> is very good over here where we can cultivate it,

 

BUT .. the climatic conditions are very good in the other countries that

now produce Geranium .. if it were no so they wouldn't produce it. :-(

 

> as my father is agricultural officer I can take help from him in

> hosure three are many farmers who are ready do to.

 

I'm sure your father is very knowledgeable of growing conditions in your

area and can better evaluate the potential for success in starting a new

agricultural industry than would be people outside of India.

 

> but I don't know how to start this and where to export this

 

There are many major traders of essential oils .. international clearing

houses .. or brokerages. What is more important is .. can you produce

Geranium with similar or better quality than that already offered in the

world market .. for the same price .. or less. If the answer to one of

these questions is " no " .. then you have a guarantee to fail.

 

> and what is the outcome in this

 

The outcome is .. success or failure. Without proper prior planning,

the outcome is likely to be failure. We have to assume that if your

area in India had the potential for being a major producer of Geranium

then it would have happened generations ago. But .. its possible that

India has great potential that was overlooked due to whatever reasons.

This is what you must determine before the first farmer plants a seed.

 

And .. you must look at the transportation capabilities in the area.

How long would it take farmers to get harvested product to a still. Oh

yea, you must have a distillation facility .. which will cost a few tens

of thousands of dollars for just ONE unit .. but one unit would never be

enough to support a viable commerical operation.

 

> if u help me it would be a great honor to you, I expect a mail from

> you

 

I'm hoping the above will be of some help to you. But perhaps the post

below will also help. Its my reply on another list to an inquiry made

by a Spanish producer of aromatic plants.

 

> Thanking you sir/madam

> Mayuraprabhu

> #h46 Phase 9 Hudco

> Opp Railway station

> Hosur-635109

> Tamilnadu, India

> Ph:04344-525698

 

Good luck .. regards .. and keep smiling, Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

------------

Stills: A Costly Venture

 

> >We are a Society of producer of orégano (Lippia Berlandieri Shauser)

> >and. we have about 150 acres of this plant. We have actualy about 60

> >tons. of oregano. we want to extract the oil essence and we need a

> >machinery to extract this oil by steem but we dont know where to buy

> >this machinnery. plis give to know where. We are 24 producers.

> >organiced producers very optimist and good workers.

> >have a good day and God bless you.

 

Lemme try to help by presenting a different slant on this .. one based

on my own considerations of opening a distillation facility. And I'm

not trying to rain on anybody's parade. After I stubby penciled costs

of establishing a still operation I realized that I would be at great

risk and likely not be able to compete with existing operations. And I

would not have had the additional cost of running a farm .. just buying

the wild-grown aromatic materials from the villagers.

 

Unless I read this wrong .. the issue is a group of 24 growers who have

a total of 60 tons of aromatics and are looking to form a co-op of a

sort to purchase distillation equipment to render the essential oil.

 

Time is not a show stopper .. the aromatic material can be dried and

distilled anytime they're ready. The problem they will face this year

is the initial investment which will be more than they will get for the

essential oil IF they are able to sell it all this year.

 

I believe that sixty metric tons of Lippia will produce between 16-18

kilograms of EO per metric ton. If a facility already existed, figure

18 kilos X 60 metric tons at $70 a kilo and we have $75,600 potential

value in the EO .. minus cost of labor, energy, water and barrels. This

is an optimistic estimate of the amount of oil they can produce and the

price they can get for the oil .. in bulk.

 

They would need to purchase at least a 500 kilogram still (dry material

capacity) to operate economically, and even one that size would require

120 separate distillations, which would take 40 days if they did three a

day and had no breakdowns. They would also need a separate source of

power .. of steam production .. so fuel expenses would be added to the

cost of production. Bottom line .. the cost of the setup will greatly

exceed the first year return on the oil .. and maybe the second year

return too. But such costs are considered normal in the business.

Running a distillery is sorta like running a hotel .. we can't make

money untill we make a large initial investment.

 

Then they must hire a master distiller or they are going to lose a lot

of product. Its no different than opening a restaurant without having a

good chef in charge of the kitchen. Going into that with eyes open ..

there are (I'm sure) producers of stills in Europe .. maybe the place to

start looking is with mechanical engineers .. they're often the ones to

manufacture stills. If they can't find one in Spain (which is the best

option) I can put them in contact with a manufacturer here in Turkey. I

DO NOT operate on commission basis .. I have absolutely NOTHING to gain

in this transaction except to assist the producer .. who is a friend of

mine. They would deal direct with him and work out their own details

for production and export.

 

The man I would recommend has much experience building stills and this

is important .. ask anyone familiar with distillation and they'll agree

that efficiency in all units is not the same .. loss of 5% efficiency

equals loss of 5% profit. The gentleman I would refer them to is the

person who produced the stills Gary Young claims .....

 

> Uses a proprietary low-pressure, low-temperature stainless steel

> steam distillation system designed by Gary Young to preserve the

> high quality of essential oils.

 

Those stills were Turkish designed and Turkish produced .. by a fellow

named Namut Mumcuoglu. They are identical to the ones he had operating

when Gary Young saw them and wanted a similar setup for Young Living.

 

A few other sources for distillation equipment .. from dogpile.com

 

engr.ucdavis.edu/~cfe/indadd/distill.htm

http://www.brinstrument.com/data/tproduct.html

http://www.myers-vacuum.com/

http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/distil/distil0.htm

 

If I could produce only the amount they are claiming below ... I might

consider NOT investing in a distillation setup. I might try to find an

existing operation that would distill my aromatics on a contractual

basis. For some people, distillation is a profitable venture .. for

others its a losing proposition or an expensive hobby.

 

The market for essential oils is as volatile as are the oils themselves.

I know many distillers who are biting the dust after years of operation.

Its not unthinkable that the demand for Lippea could be greatly reduced

at any time ... in fact, I doubt that there is all that much demand now

due to the abundance of true Origanums.

 

Though most Lippias are carvacrol rich, they are not Oregano .. and it

might be that what they have produced is Lippia graveolens .. commonly

called Yerba dulce in Mexico or Lippia mexicana (Lippia dulcis) or

Lippia origanoides (Kunth) .. which is often used as a substitute for

Oregano. All are carvacrol rich but also contain a bit of camphor.

 

Lippias are Family Verbenaceae .. Origanums are Family Labiatae. The

the only thing they have in common besides incorrect Common Names is

that some of the Lippias contain carvacrol. My point here is that the

majority of commercial buyers want Origanums .. aromatherapists often

use the Lippias. So lotsa market research is good prior to investment.

 

I truly wish Miguel the best of luck .. and I hope my comments here are

not seen as being negative .. they're just a recommendation of caution.

 

Y'all keep smiling, Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

Bulk/Wholesale/Retail GC Tested EO, Rose Otto, Hydrosols and other nice

things shipped to you from our operation in Friendsville, Maryland.

 

PS: My first girlfriend was just a moonshiner's daughter .. but I loved

her still. I recall once when her pappy said a feller came to the door

and announced " Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, " .. and he just assumed it

was another delivery of supplies. ;-p