Packing batteries with more punch
Indian researchers are working on cells that can store more energy, last longer
IW15_MS_MenthaOil_NET.jpg
Mentha oil prices are likely to rebound in the near-term on export demand. The oil is used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food industry.
Prices of mentha oil have fallen sharply during the year, tumbling 46.3 per cent to Rs 875.80 a kg from Rs 1,527.40/kg. This is likely to stimulate demand in the October-December quarter, the peak period for mentha oil exports.
India is the largest producer and supplier of mentha oil in the global market. The country accounts for over three-fourths of total global production of mentha oil and domestic output has a significant bearing on the international market.
Domestic production of mentha oil is projected to drop by 15-20 per cent in 2013 to about 40,000-42,500 tonnes, according to brokerage Emkay Research. According to Food and Agriculture Organisation, global production of mentha oil was 62,828 tonnes in 2011-12, with India contributing around 50,000 tonnes.
The fall in domestic output can be largely attributed to a sharp fall in prices over the last two years. This dissuaded many farmers from cultivating pudina (mint), from which the oil is extracted.
Mentha oil prices hit a peak of Rs 2,475.90 a kg on February 4, 2012. The rate could not be sustained and by April, prices began to plummet and crashed to Rs 1,155.20 by June.
Mentha oil managed to rebound in the ensuing months until early this year. It climbed to Rs 1,527.40 a kg in February, but the price reversed abruptly on demand concerns and plunged to Rs 820.8 on August 12.
The oil is now trading below its five-year average price of Rs 977.84, but is still appreciably higher than the rate that prevailed in 2008 and 2009 and for a major part of 2010.
As a result of the fall in domestic production, global supply could be tight. About 700 tonnes of mentha (spearmint and peppermint) oil were exported in the first three months of the current financial year, according to Commerce Ministry data. This is equivalent to about 20 per cent of total exports in the whole of 2012-13. With the peak season round the corner in international markets, there is likely to be an uptick in demand for the oil as consumers could take advantage of the low rates.
In the near-term, domestic prices will also be driven by the upcoming festival season. Mentha oil arrivals have been slow this year; arrivals usually vary between 300-350 drums of 180 kg each in July, but major markets have received only about 100 drums.
There is likely to be a significant rise in arrivals ahead of Diwali, which will be met by improved demand from the FMCG sector, particularly confectionaries.
Post-Diwali, large-scale demand is expected, driven by the pharma industry’s bulk purchases for use in cold and cough medicines, balm and other products. Besides this, mentha oil is increasingly being used in the manufacture of products such as ‘cool hair oil’.
Indian researchers are working on cells that can store more energy, last longer
To fix a broken bone, doctors often harvest another bone from the patient’s body or from someone else. It ...
Superconductors from IIScScientists at IISc Bangalore have invented a device with a nanocrystal structure ...
Engineering and construction giant L&T has won a licence from the Council of Scientific & Industrial ...
Will a stock continue its current trend or will it reverse? We tell you how you can read chart patterns to ...
Sensex and Nifty 50 saw selling interest on Friday and slumped; selling pressure could continue
Investors with a long-term horizon can consider this offer
Most AMCs have been sending out cryptic e-mails. We tell you how to read between the lines
In these isolated times when people yearn for a slice of the familiar, amateur and professional chefs are ...
Forget the tuna. The island nation will keep you full and happy with coconut, koftas and jasmine
This year, on Facebook, I saw that someone had posted a list of EASY RESOLUTIONS. I didn’t copy them down but ...
With strokes of quirky humour, Partha Pratim Deb uses pulp, terracotta, glass and discarded cloth to create ...
Digital is becoming dominant media, but are companies and their ad agencies transforming fast enough to make a ...
Slow Network, promoted by journalist-lyricist Neelesh Misra, pushes rural products and experiences
How marketers can use the traditional exchange of festive wishes meaningfully
For Fortune, a brand celebrating its 20th anniversary, it was a rude shock to become the butt of social media ...
Three years after its inception, compliance with GST procedures remains a headache for exporters, job workers ...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of companies are altering the prospects for wooden toys of ...
Aequs Aerospace to create space for large-scale manufacture of toys at Koppal
And it has every reason to smile. Covid-19 has triggered a consumer shift towards branded products as ...
Please Email the Editor