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Analysis of trade in non-timber forest products

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Recent Accomplishments in Applied Forest Economics Research

Part of the book series: Forestry Sciences ((FOSC,volume 74))

Abstract

Recent studies indicate a huge annual trade in medicinal plants from the Himalayas. Based on a national level survey of trade, this paper investigates trade in one of the most important commercial medicinal plant species from Nepal, Swertia chirayita (Roxb. ex Flem.) Karst. The survey was conducted along the marketing chain from the hills of Nepal to the plains of India and included standardised open-ended interviews with 58 harvesters, 56 local traders, 45 central wholesalers, 26 regional wholesalers, and 16 production companies. The annual supply of air-dried unprocessed whole plants of S. chirayita from Nepal, almost all harvested in the wild, is estimated at 300–1,500 tonnes with an export value of USD 0.7–3.5 million; trade in the case year 1997/98 is estimated at 849 tonnes valued at USD 2.0 million. The latter is estimated to provide almost 25,000 households with around 20% of their annual cash income. Nepal is found to be the main global supplier (74 ± 13%) with Bhutan (19 ± 10) and India (8 ± 7) being the only other supply countries. Total international trade in 1997/98 is estimated at 1000–1,400 tonnes with a CIF value of USD 2.3–3.2 million. The validity and reliability of findings are discussed and it is concluded that the trade figures are likely to represent conservative estimates.

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Authors
  1. Carsten Smith Olsen
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  2. Thorsten Treue
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics and Natural Resources, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, Denmark

    F. Helles , N. Strange  & L. Wichmann ,  & 

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Olsen, C.S., Treue, T. (2003). Analysis of trade in non-timber forest products. In: Helles, F., Strange, N., Wichmann, L. (eds) Recent Accomplishments in Applied Forest Economics Research. Forestry Sciences, vol 74. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0279-9_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0279-9_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-6221-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-0279-9

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