Economic Possibilities of Lemongrass Oil Industry on the West Coast

Abstract

Fifty years ago cultivation of this gross was practically unknown on the West Const. Today it is cultivated in an area over 30,000 астен about 85% of which being in the State of Travancore Cochin, and the rest in Malabar district. The industry originally started with the distillation of oil from Lemongrass growing wild on the hill slopes and the product was mostly uaed for medicinal and perfumery purposes. Gradually this oil found its way to Foreign markets like New York and London and began to attract better prices. Within the past 25 years the foreign demand for this oil, which has come to occupy an important place in foreign trade of India has increased progressively which in its turn has resulted in a corresponding increase in the production of this commodity. When the demand for oil outgrew the supply from natural growth, regular cultivation of the crop was started first in Travancore Cochin and later on in Malabar and still later in parts of South Kanara bordering on Malabar. In the wild state two distinct types of grasses were found one having a whitish stem and the other pinkish one. It was soon found out that the grass with pinkish stom (Cymbapogon Bexuosus) yields an oil of much better quality than the one with whitish stem (Cymbapogon Citratus), the difference being mainly in the Citral Content of the oils which determines the prices in the foreign markets. While the pink stemmed grass gives an oil containing 75 to 83% citrical, the oil from the white stemmed grass contains hardly 10% citral. As a result of this discovery and the Foreign markets fixing a definite standard which insist on a minimum of 78% Citral in the oils for export, care is now being taken to eliminate the white stemmed grass from cultivated fields. The oil from C. Citratus growing wild is, however, extensively used for mixing with oils of higher Citral Content than the required minimum so as to bring the same to the minimum level. Ita economic importance can be seen from the fact that next to the Mysore Sandal Wood Oil, the Cochin Lemongrass Oil occupies the foremost place among the Indian essential oil exported to foreign countries.