Marketing channel of medicinal and aromatic plants (maps) in the great Himalayan National Park (GHNP), Kullu, Himachal Pradesh India

Abstract

The evolution of man and the use of medicinal plants are linked and have been in trend since ancient times. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) play an important role in meeting the demand of traditional and modern systems of medicine. An exponential growth has been observed in the market expansion of medicinal plants in the last three decades. The consumption of traditional medicines is more in the developing countries than the developed ones, yet both have similar import values. The developing countries export more than the developed ones. India exports around 80 per cent of the medicinal and aromatic plants in the form of raw material including the dried plants, extracts and isolated ingredients. The present paper is based on the primary and secondary data collected from the selected pockets of Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP), where an effort has been made to study the marketing channel of MAPs trade in the villages of GHNP. In addition to this, comparative analysis has been done to analyse the market price discrepancy over the years mainly after restrictions imposed on collection of medicinal and aromatic plants and to assess the percentage market price change in some special status species of medicinal plants in the area.