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By Steven Foster
[Ed. note: This article appeared in the Medicinal & Aromatic Plants newsletter as (No. 16, Sept. 2005) from the Market News Service of the International Trade Centre in Geneva, as part of the newsletter’s special Regional Focus. It is republished in HerbalEGram with the kind permission of MNS/ITC and the newsletter’s editor, Mr. Josef Brinckmann. For more on this newsletter and the activities of the MNS/ITC, please go to www.intracen.org.]
Eastern Europe, particularly the Balkans, has been an historically important source for the world herb trade. Concerns over quality issues, particularly contamination with pesticides, heavy metals, radiation and other industrial pollutants has created a situation where many Western buyers in the supply chain are demanding quality assurance, primarily through certified organic supply sources. The process of moving from central economies to market economies in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (FSU) has disrupted traditional supply chains. Prior to the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, two state companies in Montenegro had estimated export sales surpassing $30 million US per year. Montenegro, is now re-emerging as an important and vibrant trading center for medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP), primarily wild-harvested in the Balkans or Coastal Mountains. Its flora is one of the most diverse of any comparable-sized temperate or subtropical region in the world.
Montenegro is located in the southwestern the Balkans, encompassing an area of 13,812 km2 (5,333 sq. miles) and is about 173 km from east to west, with a 316 km coastline along the Adriatic. The country is mostly mountainous, with only 10% of its land area below 200 m. The Montenegro climate is generally classified as Mediterranean, though microclimates can be found along the coast, valleys, mountains and plateaus, creating a diversity of habitats with subtropical to subalpine floristic elements. The geological features form three distinct floristic zones including the inland mountains, the central lowland plain, and the Adriatic coast. The diverse climate and relief features create a high degree of biological diversity in a comparatively small territory. Montenegro never became an industrial center in the former Yugoslavia. Instead it was valued more for it’s still intact natural beauty, which includes the largest inland lake in Europe-Skadar Lake, famous as a European birding location; the Tara River - one of Europe’s cleanest rivers; and a sparse population of about 600,000 people, 25% of which live in the capital, Podgorica.
Most if not all MAP production in Montenegro is wild harvested material. The Adriatic coast from Albania to Montenegro is the world’s largest production region of wild-harvested Dalmatian Sage (Salvia officinalis). Over 50 percent of the world’s production of dried Sage and its essential oil is traded through Albania, and a significant percentage of “Albanian” sage is sourced from Montenegro. The bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) crop is harvested in a short, three-week period, beginning in late July and ending by late August. This year’s harvest is expected to be about 300 tons of fresh bilberries. Almost the entire crop is sold as raw material, either dried or frozen to Western European markets, notably to Germany. The harvest is less than 50% of its peak of 650 tons in the early 90s, primarily due to fewer people involved in the wild harvest.
As is the case throughout much of its range, Gentiana lutea (represented in Montenegro by an endemic subspecies G. lutea spp. simphyandra) is threatened and its harvest is banned in the country. However, like many MAP conservation measures imposed by local or national governments, the regulation is little enforced. For the past five years, one former dealer in Gentian root, V. Vucinic, owner of Flores Company in Mojkovac, has been distributing seed of Gentian to seasonal shepherds and villagers of Mount Sinjajevina in the central high plateau of the country. He has also traveled throughout the region and kindly asked farmers harvesting hay to avoid cutting flowering or seeding Gentian plants. Hence, uncut gentian plants are common in hayfields throughout this region. The result of his efforts is thousands of plants in new populations of the threatened herb.
Although herb dealers and plant conservationists often seem at odds with one another, wild harvesters and regional herb dealers often have a profound knowledge of plant population dynamics and are a valuable asset for implementing conservation measures.
In addition to supplying bulk raw supplies of well-known European herbs, Montenegro produces many essential oils including Silver Fir (Abies alba), Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis), Juniper Berry (Juniperus communis), Dalmatian Sage (Salvia officinalis), Helichrysum (Helichrysum italicum), and Myrtle (Myrtus communis), among others.
Despite economic challenges such as unfavorable banking terms, the Montenegro MAP industry, through private sector development is poised once again to become an important supplier of bulk of high quality, wild-harvested medicinal plants, culinary herbs, and essential oils to world market.
By Steven Foster, Consultant, Booz Allen Montenegro Private Sector Development and
Competitiveness Project, USAID. E-MAIL: sfoster@stevenfoster.com
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