castor oil

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CASTOR 
OIL

 

Castor (Ricinus communis ) is cultivated around the world because of the commercial importance of its oil. India is the world’s largest producer of castor seed and meets most of the global demand for castor oil. India produces 8 to 8.5  tons of castor seed annually, and accounting for more than 60% of the entire global production.

Out of 48% about 42% of oil is being extracted and the cake retains the rest. The Castor seed products have widespread application in many industries like paint, lubricant, pharmaceutical, textiles, etc. Because of its unlimited industrial applications, castor oil enjoys tremendous demand worldwide.

The current consumption of Castor Oil and its derivatives in the domestic market increasing rapidly annually. India is also the biggest exporter of castor oil and its derivatives at 87% share of the international trade in this commodity.

Castor is an important non‐edible oilseed crop and is grown especially in arid and semi arid region. It is originated in the tropical belt on both India and Africa. It is cultivated in different countries on commercial scale, of which India, China and Brazil, the three major castor growing countries accounting for 90 per cent of the world’s production. Historically, Brazil, China and India have been the key producing countries meeting global requirements.

However, in early 90’s, Brazilian farmers moved away to more lucrative cash crops, and surge in domestic demand in China made them net importers, leaving India to meet the global demand.

Overview of China Environment

As the castor oil possess the characteristics that not easy to concretion or volatilization in low or high temperature, etc. it becomes the most important lubricant in aviation，aerospace industry.  The castor oil has more than 3000 derivative products after further  processing .Methyl-lipid and Butyl-lipid that derived from the castor oil through lipolysis change is a main raw materials to produce lubricant, plastic, cosmetics, detergent etc. It has become an important element in national economy development.

Compared with food crops, the castor-oil plant is an economic crop, with its simple labour and time saving cultivation process. Furthermore, caster plant all can simply be planted in field or road side, hill slope or just beside the house.

According to the related statistic, the annual demand for castor oil in China is about 400,000 tons. However the actual annual castor oil production in China is not more than

200,000 tons, which means a short supply every year, the 2/3 of demand is import from overseas. There are about 20 big and middle size castor oil processing factories in China now, and only 8 factories among of them that can process more than 10,000 tons per year. Because of the shortage of raw material of Castor seeds, most enterprises are not operating fully. Therefore castor plantation will not face problem in selling.

Overview of Thailand Environment

Castor bean generally grow in dry highland areas on hilly terrain and it is the second most  important crop for supplementing the income of farmers in the North, Northeast, and west of Thailand and neighboring countries.  In some areas, castors are intercropped with other crops such as maize, cassava, peanuts, chili, and kapok. When the castors are intercropped with maize, to take one example, the maize is harvested first, leaving the castor plants to guarantee the farmer's income for the rest of the year. From its inception, Thailand has been actively involved in every aspect of agricultural progress related to castor seed production. Promotion and improvement of castor seed cultivation techniques

including research into new varieties of castor seed, which are more insect-resistant, give higher yield, and especially suited to local climate and soils.

The castor seed price collapsed in the 90’s resulted in the shrinking of castor plantation in Thailand. It recovered some ground gradually annually with the increasing of castor price and demand.

Castor Market

Castor crop plays an important role in the agricultural economy of the earning substantial foreign exchange through export of castor beans and oils. Major castor importing markets

includes European Union, USA, Japan and now China and Thailand. Castor oil has a worldwide demand that is rising 3 to 5 % per annum. The world production of castor oil crop is concentrated in a few countries. As a result, there are only a few large exporters of castor oil fulfilling a significant portion of world demand.

Castor seeds contain a high amount of oilover 50 percent on a dry-weight basisthat is used in a variety of ways. Modem manufacturers have developed many products using castor oil and its derivatives, ranging from lipstick to jet-engine lubricants.

Because of widely fluctuating world supplies and the structure of the world market, prices for castor oil vary considerably. The castor oil market has been on a vicious cycle of shortfall and surplus, depending on yields, weather, domestic consumption and economic conditions in the producing countries.

Castor oil is a proven competitor in the industrial chemical markets. It is a critical raw material for the industrial chemical markets. It is practical, natural, renewable and very versatile, and it has been a staple for the Oleo chemical markets for a very long time. Castor oil has been called on to resolve numerous formulating and processing needs because of its unique fatty acid structure

Future Development

Castor takes about 120 days from the seedlings to harvest and continual harvesting up to 8-10 years. It can yield of 1.5 tons in China and 3 tons in Thailand per 6 MU annually.

Strong export demand internationally lifted castor future and made as one of the high demand cash crops nowadays.The company decided to development castor plantation comprehensively in the future by assisting planter involved in castor plantation and impart plantation knowledge plus management experience to them.

Meanwhile, the company planned to expand castor plantation throughout China & ASEAN and dedicated in setup a complete and consistent production chain for castor plantation in sustaining company’s development.

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