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Gums and NTFP Unexplored

Avinash Upadhayay

Gums and resins are perhaps the most cording to them, some plants only are Anacardiaceae, Combretaceae, widely used and traded non-wood for- yield gum, others only resins and Meliaceae, Rosaceae and Rutaceae est products other than items con- yet others both gum and resins. sumed directly as food, fodder and 1Inherent characteristic of medicine. Human beings have been Gums: gums using gums and resins in various forms Gums are plant exudations, partly as • Gums can be divided into three for ages. The history of Gum arabic, a natural phenomenon (as part of the types: soluble, insoluble and long recognised as an ideal , normal metabolism of plants) and semi soluble. Soluble gums dis- stretches back 2000 years. In modern partly as a result of injury to the bark solve in water or form more or less times, gums and resins have been or stem (due to fungal or bacterial at- transparent, viscous and adhe- used the world over as embalming tack). Mostly gums are exuded by the sive solutions as in Indian gum chemicals, incense, medicines (mainly stem, only a few gums are obtained Arabic. Insoluble gum often anti-septic properties and balms), cos- from , leaves and other parts of swells with the addition of water metics in and for waterproofing the plant. Gums are primarily formed forming gels like the gum karaya. and caulking ships. by the disintegration of internal plant While the semi-soluble gums de- compose completely without Use of gums and resins for domestic MARKET FACTS melting on heating,. consumption and for sale to earn some • Gum is edible cash is very common among the forest • It is not fragrant • A total of 30 types of gums are dwelling communities, particularly • It does not burn tribals, in India. Thousands of forest traded in India at varying levels dwellers in the central and western In- • 3% of traded medicinal plants Resins dian states depend on gums and res- are gums Resins have certain properties in com- ins as a viable income source. How- • 2% of gum usage is medicinal mon and form a distinct group of plant ever, if we go through the statistics, the products easily recognizable in prac- in nature developments are not encouraging, as tice. These are oxidation products of the market for local gums and resins • Gums like canarium strictum various essential oils. Resins are at the national level has largely re- and sterculia urens have been complex in nature with varied chemi- mained stagnant or has decreased given vulnerable status by cal composition. They usually occur over years This development has made IUCN. as derivatives of starch and are mix- an adverse effect on the gum depen- • Gum karaya contributes 2% of ture of volatile and non-volatile com- dant communities. This article is a step pounds. All the natural resins are veg- the revenue from the towards taking the stock of the situa- etable in origin with the exemption of tion of the product group in the country medicinal plant exports from lac (it is a natural and comes and visualise the possible intervention India from an insect laccifer lacca). Resins for development. can be classified into three categories. tissue through a process known as The first one is the Dammers, which Introduction & Classification gummosis. The process breaks are hard and transparent resins con- The difference between the terms down the cellulose and taining a small amount of essential 'gums' and 'resins' is not easy to pin- haemicellulose, both of which are oils. The important commercial spe- point in a precise manner. The two complex carbohydrates located in the cies under this category are Canarium, are used interchangeably in everyday cell walls of plants. Gums are com- vateria and shorea, Copals & . language. Both terms refer to sticky, prised of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen The second one is , aromatic smooth and elastic plant exudations. and are found in a large number of oleoresins containing considerable However, experts differentiate be- families. Notable among them are amount of essential oils, mainly from tween the two terms on the basis of leguminosae and Sterculiaceae. genus commiphora. The third category some distinctive characteristics. Ac- Other important gum yielding families is that is gum resin

1 Inherent characteristics are not applicable to all gums or resins, as the product groups are overlapping in their characteristics. However, more than 90% of the characteristics are applicable to a single group.

Community / 15 MARKET cense, Dammer (Canarium Policies, laws and rules guid- Strictum) and Guggul (Commiphora ing Gums and Resins mukul) Indian gums and resins have been in demand in the international market for Physical properties of Gums centuries and have always fetched & Resins high prices. But is has been a double- The physical properties of gums and edged sword. On the one hand, it has resins are of utmost importance in de- provided livelihood to millions of termining their uses and their commer- people. On the other, there has been cial value. Not only do they vary con- rampant, unsustainable tapping and siderably among gums & resins of dif- exploitation for quick money. The 80's, ferent botanical origins. There are also in particular, saw large scale over-ex- noticeable differences even within the ploitation leading to severe damage

Photo:-CSV-Maharashtra same species when gums are col- and death of trees. Chastened by the lected from plants growing under dif- experience, many gum-producing ferent climatic conditions and even the states in the country have restricted same plant in different seasons of the their extraction and have adopted con- Gum is Oozing out of the tree year. The major physical properties of trol measures for protection of liveli- gums & resins are colour and form, hoods as well as to stop abrupt rise in from species boswellia. Major resins taste and smell, hardness and den- demand. The policies of major states available in India are Sal (Shorea ro- sity, solubility, and colloidal are as follows: busta), Vellapine (Vateria indica), nature. canarium strictum, Chir pine (Pinus Andhra Pradesh Roxburgii), Gurjan (Dipterocarpus Production and consumption Five major types of gum are available terbinatus), Indian tree The bulk of commercially important in Andhra Pradesh. They are; gum (Garcinia morella). The major resin gums in the country comes from the karaya, gum thiruman (Dhawara), gum producing states are Uttar Pradesh, central Indian forests, consisting of Olibanum (Salai), Gum kondagogu Himachal pradesh, Jammu & Kash- states like Madhya Pradesh, (Cochlospermum gossypium) and mir, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. Res- Chattisgarh,Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, gum Dikmali (Gardenia Gummifera). ins are found in a large number of fami- Jharkhand and Bihar while Gujarat All the gums in the state are under a lies. Notable among them are and Rajasthan contribute a small por- specified list with restrictions. The Pinaceae, , Burseraceae, tion of it. The rest of the India produces gums are collected by GCC (Girijan Dipterocarpaceae. a very small quantity. The gum produc- Co-operative Corporation). GCC pays ing areas are mostly around the West- a royalty to the Forest Department to Inherent characteristic of Res- ern Ghats and the Eastern Ghats and secure collection rights and market ins surrounding areas. More than 90% of monopoly. In the scheduled areas, the • Resins are not edible gums produced in India come from tribals have the right to collect gums • Resins are aromatic just four states: Madhya Pradesh, from the forests. For this, GCC issues • Resins are inflammable Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and a "Giricard" to the identified gum picker, • They are insoluble in water but Orissa. which legitimises access to forests for usually dissolve readily in alco- gum collection and also sale in the hol, ether and certain other sol- Most important Indian gums like gum vents. karaya, dhawara gum and salai are exported to Europe and America, Important Gums and Resins where they are processed and value available in India added. The local use of these gums Though there are more than 30 com- and resins is as little as less than 5% mercially important gum and resin -most of it by pharmaceutical indus- species available in India, the num- tries. In northern India, it is also used ber of important trees with substantial in food items. They are commonly production is rather small. Among the marketed and used in the preparation various kinds of gums, the important of "laddu" and various other kinds of species are Gum karaya (Sterculia health drinks like sherbet and lassi. Urens), Gum Dhawara (Anogeissus Other gums, which are found in smaller Latifolio), Gum Kumta (Gum or quantities, also find their way to either arabic). Among resins, the important the pharma industries or Photo:-Keystone Foundation ones are Sal resin (Shorea Robusta), confectionaries. Salai (Boswellia Serrata), Frankin- Making a blaze

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Gums and Resins Expected trade volume & Available areas use Gum Karaya The annual production of Gum India has a monopoly in production and exports karaya is about1500 MT and 90% of this gum; production centers are Andhra of it is exported to Europe and US. Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and The quantum of local use not Maharashtra. Previously, a large amount of the known very clearly.Andhra Pradesh production was from the Aravali region of produces more than half the Rajasthan. But the government has banned it production in the country. due to over exploitation.

Dhawara gum (in trade parlance The annual production of Gum India and Srilanka control the market of Gum known as 2ghatti gum) ghatti is about 1200 MT in India; ghatti. The tree grows extensively all over the over 90% of it is exported to Europe country, particularly in the Western Ghats and and US, where it is processed. In the dry plateaus of the Vindhyachal, Satpura North India, it is used as a health and Western Ghats range of mountains, drink, particularly for carrying or extending in Maharashtra, M.P. Chhatisgarh, lactating mothers. Bihar and Orissa.

Salai gum The annual production of Salai Mainly in the central Indian states, particularly Gum is about 200 MTs. Most of it is in the states of Madhya Pradesh and exported after mixing with other Chattisgarh. gums.

Gum Arabic or gum acacia The annual production of Gum World production is more than 50, 000 MTs. arabic is about 400 MT in India; Available in desert and arid regions of More than 80% of it is exported.At Rajasthan and adjoining areas of MP,Gujarat, the same time, it is also imported Haryana and Punjab. in huge quantities. Primarily used by pharma companies as a binding and coating agent. market. Giricards contain information ernment or an agent appointed by the Madhya Pradesh Government. had about the number of gum trees and state government could collect these banned the extraction of these gums transaction details. After collection of gums. Dhawra, Babul and Khair gums in year 1982 and 1992 respectively. In gums, GCC sales the produce are grouped together as class-II gums 1995, the state government relaxed through tender. If the purchaser is an to distinguish them from Kullu and the ban on extraction of Gum Karaya exporter, it has to submit the 'H' form. salai gums. These gums were taken in Morena, Bastar and Khandwa dis- No other tax or cess is levied on the out of the list of specified produce in tricts. Since then, its extraction has produce. Recently, Andhra Pradesh June 2003. Till that time, the federa- been carried out through primary co- Govt. made a provision under which tion had carried out trade in the speci- operative societies. In 1992, the state gums and resins will not be calculated fied gums as an agent of the state gov- government lifted the ban on extrac- under VAT (value added tax). ernment through primary forest pro- tion of Salai Gum in Gwalior, Shivpuri, duce co-operative societies and dis- Ujjain and Khandwa circles. Madhya Pradesh trict unions. The collected quantity is Kullu or Karaya, dhawra, khair (Acacia sold through open tenders/ auctions. Chattisgarh Katechu), babul (Acacia Nilotica) and 2% forest development tax is charged All the major gums in the state are salai gums were notified in MP as on the bid amount. nationalized and are categorized as "specified " under the Grade I and Grade II gums. Kullu gum MP Van Upaj (Vyapar Viniyam) Act, Due to over exploitation of karaya and is in Grade I while dhawra, babool and 1969. Under theAct, only the state gov- Salai trees for their valuable gums, the khair are grade II gums. The collec-

2Ghatti gum is a loosely used term for a class of gum with high viscosity. Gums from 4-5 botanical origins are mixed with each other with dhawara gum as its parent ingredient. This group of gum is second only to gum karaya in quantity.

Community Forestry / 17 MARKET tion of Kullu gum is prohibited in the appointed as the canalizing agent. Ini- number of actors have reduced, the state except in Bastar, Kanker and tially, it used to take a 20% commis- importance of Indian gums and res- Jagdalpur districts. The entire area of sion on the product, which was later ins is still intact. It is now operating on collection is divided into different units. reduced to 3%. During the early 90's, a much smaller scale and is a clear- These units are sold in advance TRIFED banned the export by traders cut supplier and exporter relationship through tenders and auctions by MFP so that it can export exclusively and without many intermediaries. federation. The purchaser is required fetch more income. However, this ex- to deposit 10% of the sale value, cal- periment failed as most of the import- On the supply side, state level forest culated on the basis of notified quan- ers told TRIFED to come through the corporations or tribal development tity in the tender notice, as security exporters. Needless to say the deci- corporations like the GCC in Andhra deposit. After making payment to the sion was largely a result of lobbying Pradesh, Gujarat forest department in collectors and the differential amount by exporters with foreign importers. Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh MFP Fed- between the sale rate and the collec- During this period, many traders eration and Chattisgarh MFP Federa- tion rate to the district union, the pur- changed their supply routes as well tion control more than half the produc- chaser is allowed to transport the col- as export strategies; they now started tion of gums and resins in the country. lected gum wherever S/he desires. The exporting from African countries like The rest of the trade is normally car- purchaser of gums and resins is sup- . The impact of this was di- ried out in an informal way by itinerant posed to pay various taxes like 3% sastrous on TRIFED. Gums in huge traders. While it is a very lucrative Forest development cess, 4% com- quantities piled up in its godowns as proposition for those engaged in the mercial tax on sale value, 15% sur- it could not sell any of it, resulting in trade, the collectors often receive a pit- charge on commercial tax, 2.5 % in- losses to the tune of several crores of tance for gums sold this way. come tax and a certain amount of sur- rupees. Following the disaster, the charge on income tax. policy had to be changed. The Trading center for gums in India can canalisation process started, in which be classified into two types. At the Orissa a "No Objection Certificate" (NOC) is higher level, trade in India is controlled All the gums and resins were under issued by TRIFED for export of gum by four traders, who have a more than State monopoly till March 2000, when karaya to the traders for which they 90% share of the trade, only through state-owned corporations like TDCC have to pay a three percent commis- exports. These traders are based in (Tribal Development Cooperative Cor- sion on invoice value to TRIFED. Mumbai (3 numbers) and Hyderabad poration) and OFDC (Orissa Forest TRIFED issues the NOC after assess- (1 numbers). Mumbai port is the place Development Corporation) were given ing the supply source of gum karaya. from where all export of gum takes collection and sale responsibilities. All place. All gums are cleaned, hand the gums from then till date are under Market picked and graded here before being specified forest produces or lease bar India has always been an important exported.Apart from the export trade, items. However, there has been no trade center for high quality natural there are 8-10 smaller trading centers

marketing activity since September gums and resins. Some 20-30 years in India. The small trading centers are January, 2006 2005. Marketing of resins are com- back, Mumbai used to be the most im- Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Raipur and pletely banned in the state. portant center in India for trade in gums Ahmedabad etc. The exporters pur- - both for exports and internal trade. chase the raw materials directly either External policies guiding the Gums from all over India used to reach from state corporations or from the next trade of Gum Karaya Mumbai for export to other countries. level of traders. However, they get the Gum Karaya is the only gum-based Besides, gums imported other coun- best quality of gums only from the cor- produce that comes under the purview tries too were exported from here. A porations. GCC is one of the best qual- of the country's export policy. It is what place called "Danabunda," a locality ity gum sellers in India. The traders is known as a "canalized" product. near Mandvi, used to be a big jambo- directly participate in the auction and Canalisation significantly restricts for- ree of gum merchants, while Samuel purchase the gum. eign wholesaling activities. The basic Street, where the Bombay Gum Mer- objective behind canalization is to en- chants'Association office was situated, There is very little evidence of local use sure that the tribals, who are the main used to be the other major rendezvous. of gums and resins. Traders are of the "producers" of gum karaya, receive a opinion that local consumption of fair price for their labour. In 1986, gum But things have changed beyond rec- gums and resins in India is declining karaya was canalized for the first time ognition now. The number of traders rapidly. Local supplies are mainly and NAFED, which was under the has reduced tremendously due to meant for ayuvedic medicine manu- Commerce ministry at the time, was change in profession and other fac- facturers. According to appointed as the agent. Later, consid- tors. Twenty years ago, there were sources, Indian gum is losing ground ering its importance to the livelihoods more than 20 gum exporters in the rapidly due to increased price and fluc- of tribals, TRIFED, an organization country. There are only four now. tuations in supply. Now, more and under the Ministry of TribalAffairs, was Though the volume of trade and the more industries depend upon im-

18 / Community Forestry MARKET ported varieties of gums or crop variet- Case of Gum Karaya Sometimes, it also opens buying ies, whose production is very high and The most important gum from India is points at the weekly shandies (mar- supply is consistent. Among imported the dried exudate of the sterculia kets). The gum is subsequently mar- varieties, acacia is the preferred one. Urens, a large and bushy tree, a spe- keted to exporters by GCC throgh ten- Good Acacia variety is available in cies primarily found in India. Its his- der-cum-auctions every month. The Mumbai at an average rate of Rs.110, tory dates back to the 1920's when the gum is physically cleaned by the ex- while the same quality of Indian gums gum used to be sold as an adulter- porters and exported in different in the market is priced much ated version of gum tragacanth (As- grades to various parts of Europe, Ja- higher at Rs. 140-150. Naturally, most tragalus Gummifera), which grows in pan and US. medicine units prefer to the middle east in the US. Gum karaya source their raw material from the re- ranks second only to gum Arabic in If we analyze the overall situation of tailers in Mumbai. Similarly the crop the world in terms of market share. the gum karaya trade from the GCC's variety of Guar (Cyamopsis World production of gum karaya stood viewpoint (Fig-1), it is anything but en- tetragonoloba) is available at an aver- at 5500 MT per annum in the 80s and couraging. During the last 20 years, age of Rs. 40 per kg. No wonder in- India accounted for roughly 3500 MT export figures have declined consid- dustries, which want regular supplies out of that (IIFT, 1987). India has a vir- erably.At the same time, prices have and lower cost, prefer low-grade ma- tual monopoly over production and gone through the roofs due to the terials to high-grade natural gums from export of this gum. heavy demand. The quantity procured India. Only in case of edible items, in- underwent a steep fall in the begin- dustries prefer the high-cost natural In India, organized production of gum ning of 90s and has never really re- gums from India. karaya is done in only two states of covered since then. The rise in prices India, i.eAndhra Pradesh and Madhya has gone hand in hand with the fall in If what traders in Mumbai say is any- Pradesh, though it is available and procurement. One of the primary rea- thing to go by, the gums and resins extracted in other states in smaller sons cited for the sharp decrease in market in India is going through a very quantities. GCC, the monopoly rights production of gums is that the number difficult phase characterized by huge holder inAndhra Pradesh buys directly of trees decreased sharply during the demands and low supplies. So bad is from the tribal collectors and is the early 90s due to unsustainable har- the situation that there is no guarantee main supplier of gum karaya in the vesting methods. of stable supply beyond the next five country. The gum, after drying, is sold years or so. At present, the only three in three grades Grade I, II and III based The impact of GCC as well is clearly varieties of gums that have a demand on its appearance and adhering bark. reflected (Fig-2) in the total exports of are gum karaya, salai gum and The rates for the three grades are fixed gums and resins from the country. dhawara gum. The market for the rest beforehand and usually fetch Rs. 120/ During the last 20 years, exports have of the gums is virtually non-existent. -, 90/- and 40/- respectively (approxi- come down from 4000 metric tonnes mately). GCC procures the gums to approximately 1000 tonnes.As per through its depots in the villages. the graph given below, exports are de-

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Fig.2: Gum karaya export figures (Quantity in MTS)

Fig.2:Increase in average price per kg of Gum karaya

clining gradually since 1984-85.At the international norms. Other than same time, prices are moving con- GCC inAndhra Pradesh, no other state stantly upwards. The reason proffered corporation produces good quality by the industry for declining produc- gums. Due to the low quality stan- tion and higher prices is the lower pro- dards and the presence of bacterial duction aplenty demand. and pathogenic substances like E. Coli and Salmonella (the terminal treat- Issues need attention. ment of gaseous disinfectants to elimi- The problems besetting the gums and nate the microorganisms was banned Photo:-SFRI Jabalpur resins trade in India are many. First of in many gum importing countries (Dr. all, the production base of the produce M.V.Rao)) the importance of the gums Grading of gums & resins is going down rapidly due to ruthless has been eroding in the international tapping and unorganized harvesting markets. At the same time, there has African countries, which export similar approach, when the demand for natu- been no organized effort at the central products at a much cheaper rate. Fi- ral gums and resins continuously in- level for conservation and expansion nally, the possibilities of local process- creasing in the world market since of the resource base and development ing of gums, which would ensure big- 90's. Similarly, the quality standards of value addition avenues. The latest ger returns, have not been explored of the product followed in India do not threat to the Indian market comes from fully.

Source: 1. Levetin, Macmohan, Gums and Resins 2. Dwivedi,A.P,Forests, The non-wood resources 3. Simpson, Ogorzaly, Gums and Resins 4. Krishnamurthy, T,Minor forest products of India 5. EXIM bank of India, Export potential of Indian medicinal plants 6. International Resource Group, Report of gum karaya sub-sector inAndhra pradesh, 7. Institute ofApplied Manpower Research,Pricing of MFPs procured by GCC, March, 98 8. www.frlht.org

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