Gums, resins and latexes of plant origin

NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS 6

FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

M-37
ISBN 92-5-103757-4

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale dells Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.

(c) FAO 1995 

FOREWORD

Gums, resins and latexes are employed in a wide range of food and pharmaceutical products and in several other technical applications. They form an important group of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) and are the basis of a multi-billion dollar industry. These products, particularly gums, enter into world trade in a significant way and this is indicative of the potential of NWFPs for value addition at various stages from harvesting of raw materials to the end-uses. 

This publication deals with important gums, resins and latexes following a standard format, covering description and uses, world supply and demand levels, plant sources, collection and primary processing, value-added processing, other uses and developmental potential. 

This document was prepared by J.J.W. Coppen of the UK/ODA Natural Resources Institute, who is an authority on the subject. Formatting and proofreading of it were ably done by Elisa Rubini. Its preparation and publication was guided and supervised by C. Chandrasekharan, Chief, Non-Wood Products and Energy Branch. I am grateful to them for their contributions. 

Some of these products presently suffer competition from synthetic products. There is, however, clear evidence of re-emergence of awareness and interest in these natural products and it is expected that this publication can accelerate the process.  

Karl-Hermann Schmincke  
Director 
Forest Products Division 

ABBREVIATIONS

BP	British Pharmacopoeia
CIF	Cost, insurance and freight
EC	European Community
EOA	Essential Oil Association of USA
FAO	Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FAQ	Fair average quality
FOB	Free on board
ha	hectare
HPS	Hand picked selected
ISO	International Standardization Organization
JECFA	Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
NAS	National Academy of Sciences (USA)
US$	United States dollar
WHO	World Health Organization

In all Tables:

-	indicates nil
~	indicates < 0.5 tonnes
na	indicates not available

For further details log on website :
http://www.fao.org/docrep/v9236e/V9236e02.htm