Aroma Trading Limited

Market Report February 2004

Geranium Oil
At this time, price of Egyptian Geranium Oil is about US$10.00/kilo higher than Chinese Geranium Oil. We expect the price of Egyptian will reduce further in the coming weeks, so it would be worth waiting before you buy Egyptian.

Ginger Root Oil
We have received reports of flooding in China, which will greatly reduce the quantities of Ginger Root along with a reduced crop in Cochin caused by the monsoon failure last growing season. In India, the price of dried Ginger Root has jumped 25% in a matter of days, while Chinese dried Ginger Root has increased 28%. Buyers will look to Nigeria to make up the shortfall, but there are concerns that they will also take advantage of the shortage and increase their pricing in line with China and Cochin. Some traders say they can not be sure of shipments from Nigeria.

Juniper Berry Oil
Our suppliers in Eastern Europe have been unable to supply for many months. The qualities presently available are of poor quality, and prices continue to rise.

Patchouli Oil
Indonesian Patchouli Oil has increased in price for the third month in a row. There are no reports of a shortage at origin.

Black Pepper Oil
The new Vietnamese crop will shortly commence, with yields similar to last year expected. The global market is quite depressed, with prices remaining at a low level. More details in our March report

Vetivert Oil
There is a severe shortage of both Indonesian and Haitian Vetivert Oil at the moment. At this time, Indonesia is not offering and the limited quantities of Vetivert available from Haiti are very expensive. This situation will continue over the coming months and prices will continue to rise. The only alternative source of Vetivert Oil is China but the quality is quite different and not interchangeable. However, expect Chinese Vetivert to become more expensive also in the next few months.