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Asia
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21/01/10 |
India: Surya Brasil Launches Organic Hair Care Products |
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
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10/12/09 |
India: Organic
Darjeeling Tea Exports Rise
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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
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30/11/09 |
Indonesia:
Bali Declares Itself an Organic
Island |
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
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