Commercialization of wild medicinal plants from Southwest Puebla, Mexico

Abstract

This paper describes the trade of dry medicinal plants in the southwestern area of the state of Puebla, Mexico. Gatherers who collect medicinal plants represent the poorest economic link in the trade chain. The critical socioeconomic situation of the human population is reflected in the state of the wild plants at the zone, as a result of an increase in their use for economic survival. The stock of medicinal plants handled by regional traders is an indicator of the abundance and diversity of the flora present in the zone, and permits a dynamic exchange of these products with regional traders from outside. Tracing the commercial path of six medicinal plants from the field to the market, only 6.17% of the consumer price, on average, was returned to the collectors. Most of the medicinal plants marketed and used in Mexico are wild plants. This fact, combined with the increasing demand that exists for medicinal plants in this region, create a potential environmental threat. Since this threat is a multifactorial one, involving the complex socioeconomic conditions in which rural workers and their families live, conservation programs for the wild flora (including reassessed gathering methods, production of selected medicinal species and protection of wild populations and market regulations of quality and equity) have to be applied within an organizational framework of the gatherers and peasants in the zone.

Résumé

En la cadena de mercadeo de las plantas medicinales secas procedentes del suroccidente del estado de Puebla, México, los recolectores constituyen el eslabón humano más desprotegido. Las existencias de plantas medicinales presentes en la zona y manejadas por comerciantes regionales son un indicador de la diversidad florística en México, la cual permite un dinámico intercambio de éstos productos. Al efectuar seguimiento de seis plantas medicinales desde el campo hasta su mercado, encontramos que sólo el 6.17% del precio pagado por el consumidor es captado, en promedio, por el recolector. Dado que la mayor parte de las plantas medicinales comercializadas y utilizadas en Mexico son de origen silvestre, el incremento en la demanda existente en regiones como la estudiada implica una amenaza potential para el medio ambiente. Ninguna solutión es posible si persiste la carencia de oportunidades frente a las adversas condiciones socioeconomicas en que sobreviven los trabajadores rurales y sus familias.