INDUSTRY  WATCH

Search

Industry Watch Newsletter

Subscribe Now

Asia
 

Surya Brasil has launched its organic fruit line of shampoos and conditioners for the Indian market. Inspired by Ayurvedic medicine, the products claim to combine the natural benefits of Indian and Amazon fruits with organic essential oils.

The Surya range is certified by Vegan Action. There are six products in the range and they contain a combination of exotic fruits as buriti, cupuacu, ucuuba, andiroba, guarana and passion fruit with coconut, orange, strawberry, amla and melon.

The shampoos are priced Rs 220 for 300ml bottles and conditioners Rs 250 for 300ml bottles. They are available in selected retailers outlets in the major cities that include New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata.

Organic Monitor Comment
By launching its products in India, Surya Brasil is looking to tap the growing market for natural & organic personal care products. Rising awareness of natural & organic products and growing consumer affluence are stimulating demand for these products. Although demand is rising, the Brazilian company may find it difficult to build a long-term presence because of the low prices of local products.

Research Article: Asian Companies Turning to Natural & Organic Cosmetic Standards
 

Source: Business Line / Organic Monitor
 

Premium organic tea from Darjeeling is considered some of the finest, having shelf-space in the US and UK coffee retailers such as Starbucks, Whittard of Chelsea and Peet's Coffee & Tea. It is now making inroads in new markets like Germany, Russia, Japan, China and the UAE.

"Drinking organic tea was initially fashionable in the US and Europe, but now it has emerged as a necessity in many other global markets," said Ashok Kumar Lohia, chairman of Chamong Tee Exports, the largest Darjeeling tea producer.

Germany is expected to become a major market for Darjeeling organic tea. A leading Darjeeling tea buyer in Germany has decided to go for 100 percent organic Darjeeling Tea from 2010, said Mr Lohia. The price of organic tea could be anywhere between Rs 600 and Rs 30,000 per kg, depending on the quality.

According to Sanjay Bansal, chairman of Darjeeling Tea Association, organic Darjeeling tea is sold at Euro 25-30 per kg in retail stores in the European market and at $25-30 per kg in the US. "These prices have remained stable in the current year. But there's a huge demand for organic tea with countries like the UAE, Russia and China lifting organic Darjeeling tea," said Mr Bansal.

Brand specialist Harish Bijoor, believes the organic movement is driven largely by the politically correct tone, tenor and mood of the consumer in developed markets such as the US and Europe.

"Organic is a state of mind. The demand for organic is high and supply is rather limited as of now, because truly certified organic teas are rare in number," said Mr Bijoor. With big growth in demand, natural calamities remain the biggest worry for tea growers in these Himalayan hills. This year, the production of Darjeeling tea has been affected by drought resulting in a 10 percent drop in production.

"Our price realisation has also been affected as we lost first and second flush of teas, which earn maximum revenue for the industry," Mr Bansal added. The premium first and second flush of Darjeeling tea, which has the unique muscatel flavour, is sold largely through private deals.

According to Mr Lohia, the next calendar would be a good year for organic tea producers if tea production is not hit by any natural calamities like drought. "Despite a recession, there's huge demand for organic tea and Indian tea producers are not being able to meet the growing demand."

Source: The Economic Times
 

In a move toward developing sustainable natural resources in Bali, hundreds of people, who are concerned with the state of the island's environment and agriculture, have declared "Bali as an organic island".

The declaration, initiated by an agricultural student at Udayana University, aims to raise awareness to recover the degrading quality of farming lands throughout Bali by applying organic agriculture methods.

"We as the krama [people] of Bali, are fully aware that we have to manage this small island based on a unified ecosystem, and we have to adhere to the traditional teachings and principles that we inherited from our predecessors," the declaration read.

"Organic agriculture is one way to recover the condition of our nature. Therefore, we declare Bali as an organic island." The declaration is supported by environmental groups and several NGOs, farmers, organic product consumers, local administrations and the Agriculture Ministry.

Ni Luh Kartini from Udayana University, who initiated the declaration, said that the condition of agriculture lands in Bali had degraded due to conventional ways of farming using chemical fertilizers.

"The condition of agriculture resources in this island has been very alarming, especially concerning land fertility and water availability." She cited that the concentration of organic substances in many farming lands was very low, causing severe drought in dry season.

"Low concentration of organic substance is due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers. Therefore, we have to encourage farmers to use organic fertilizers." Other worrying conditions were that water level in many rivers had receded, and groundwater reserves had decreased due to exploitation. Lakes have also been polluted, she added.

"But farmers and related stakeholders have not been fully aware about this condition. If this persists, farming lands will continue to degrade, and it will threaten our food resilience."

"We expect that the declaration will revive their awareness of how to manage farming lands while preserving nature." If the organic farming system could be applied successfully throughout Bali, it would also positively impact on the island's tourism sector, because people could develop agriculture and eco- tourism, she added.

Organic farming systems have been applied in several areas in Bali, including Baturiti in Tabanan, Gianyar, Buleleng, and Kintamani in Bangli.

However, Bali farmers still face a short supply of organic fertilizers.

"We expect the government to supply us with organic fertilizers, or provide livestock so that we can produce our own fertilizers," said farmer Wayan Sumadra, from Pancasari village, Buleleng.

He criticized the government for subsidizing state-owned companies to produce organic fertilizer, as those companies would then sell it to farmers, instead of directly subsidizing the farmers.

Source: The Jakarta Post