The trade in medicinal and aromatic plants from central Nepal to Northern India

Abstract

This paper describes the collection and trade of dry medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) from Gorkha District in central Nepal to Delhi in northern India. It is based on two years’ field work in Nepal and India. Substantial amounts of MAPs are available and accessible in the northern and middle parts of the district; currently 35 species are traded and further 13 species traded elsewhere are found in the district. Approximately 3700 individuals are engaged in commercial MAP collection; in the northern and middle parts of the district 25–100% of households in a given village participate in the collection. The average daily income is competitive with other income generating activities and commercial MAP collection constitutes from 15–35% of poor households ’ annual income (households with less than 300 US$ annual income). Commercial MAP collection is generally not important in the southern part of the district. Almost all species are harvested in the wild. The harvested and dried MAPs move southward from the forests and alpine pastures in Nepal to the main Indian markets on the Gangetic plain. Marketing margin analysis of the six main products traded shows that collectors’ net margins average 46.6% of the Delhi wholesale price; the overall average net margin for traders is only 3.0% and for Terai wholesalers 31.5%. The main potentials and pitfalls in connection to improving the trade for the collectors are briefly discussed. There are indications that the commercial MAP collection in central Nepal is not unsustainable.