Potential Role and International Trade of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in the World

Before the dawn of civilization, humans have hunted and gathered, and the only trustworthy sources of medicine were plants and herbs. The needs for traditional medicine, which are present in both local and international markets, are met in large part by medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). Due to the abundance of medicinal plants, people in many tribal and rural parts of Bangladesh, like many other nations, have traditionally relied on nature and natural remedies to heal themselves and avoid ailments. The market is flooded with items made from medicinal and aromatic herbs. Plants can be used to produce specialty materials like biocides, cosmetics, medicines, essential oils, dyes, and colorants. Most of the species of MAPs are produced for such industrial uses, but most of them are still wild collected. The increasing demand in botanicals results in a great trade from local to international level. Identifying the significant role played by MAPs in serving health and well-being security, it is very important for the countries to utilize the need to conserve, sustainably use, and commercialize the MAP biodiversity resources responsibly throughout the world. The total trades in MAPs have increased from 2.4 billion USD in 1996 to 6.2 billion USD in 2013 with annual growth rate of 5.4% in past 18 years, and growth rate of 10.7% is noticed in recent years. By 2023, it will be expected that the market for herbal medicines would develop at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.88% and reach USD 1,29,689.3 million. Nowadays, roughly 80% of the world’s population gets their healthcare mostly from plants and plant extracts. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) forecast, the worldwide herbal industry would reach $5 trillion by the year 2050. China, India, Hong Kong, USA, Germany, Republic of Korea, Canada and Poland are the top export countries while top destinations include USA, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, France, Republic of Korea, China and Singapore. The study suggests five major trade centers of MAPs worldwide viz. USA, Hong Kong, Germany, Republic of Korea and China. A number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Governmental Organizations (GOs) and International Non-Governmental Organization (INGOs) have been working on improvement and expansion of commodity-wise value chains for selected MAPs throughout the world. For commercial developments of MAPs sub-sector, it is required to gather experiences of technical, socio-economical, institutional and policy inputs.