Lavender Oil in Croatia
Answered by: Richard Alan Miller
Question from: Tim Coulson
Posted on: March 13, 2007

I just had a look at your website some interesting stuff, chem trails especially.

I am desperately trying to find out market prices for lavender oil, in my case Lavendula officinalis. I am setting up a boutique distributor on the island of Hvar in Croatia, to sell some local producers oil.

Problem is I am having a hard time trying to get an real understanding of price. I realise volatility is a problem in this market, but any clues or places where i might get some more info would be gratefully received.

I did see another post where you said it was $20 per lb in 2001. I think. I am not to sure what that actually means when it comes to millilitres and litres, since we are metric here.

You have some serious problems trying to compete with French and Italian products, especially right now. You need to get current with the local and regional situation. I suspect inventories are more than 4 years old. Geneva has a declaration on these old every 10 years, get that UNDCAT document now. If you do get it, share it with me. Mine is 18 years old.

Read everything I suggest in market resources to upgrade Foreign Agricultural Services info, now on-line.

http://www.nwbotanicals.org/oak/altagri/marketingrsrc.htm

Back in 2000 I wrote

http://www.nwbotanicals.org/oak/altagri/cropoutlook.htm

That should be easy to update. And, of course, I have written an entire monograph on lavender, similar to those documents found at

www.herbfarminfo.com

With your education, you do that math (not me) i.e. liters = gallons, pounds, etc.

Floral trade is best, and probably the only place you can make enough to justify that crop. You should also diversify, probably in the same markets (more things to sell). Add as much value as you can on the farm prior to it being sold.

Here is a the first page of an older Technical Crop Report I have prepared. These took time (300+ crops), and no one ever paid me for them, especially to upgrade and make "current.."

Crop: Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) - True Lavender; Lavender (Lavandula latifolia Vill.) - Spike Lavender; Lavender (Lavandula hybrida Reverchon) - Lavandin, or grosse Lavender

World Market: 22,000 acres, all species (total acreage and farmgate revenues for all plant parts and derivatives)

North American Market: 2,600 acres, all species (total acreage and farmgate revenues for all plant parts and derivatives)

Prices ($/lb.): Flowers: i) dried; $4.50/lb.; ii) organic; $4.85/lb.; iii) fresh; $20.50/lb. (French), $14.50/lb. (Spike), $10.50/lb. (Lavandin)

Future prospects: Prices: same; Market Size: same; Reason why: Cheaper sources create surpluses, so market remains fixed.

With that said, I am available as an outside consultant. I may even get over toward your part of the world.

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