Extracting more profit from herbs and spices

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Saskatchewan herb and spice growers are eagerly awaiting upcoming tests of a new piece of equipment that has the potential to open up new markets and new opportunities for producers.

“The essential oil industry is exploding, and Saskatchewan can capitalize on the value-add,” said Wanda Wolf of the Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association.

The excitement is centred around the development of a portable essential oil extractor being developed by the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI), with the financial assistance of the provincial government’s Agriculture Development Fund.

An essential oil is a concentrated liquid containing volatile aromatic compounds extracted from plants. Essential oils are used in perfumes, aromatherapy, cosmetics, incense, food and drink flavours, household cleaning products and even some medicines.

While spices are often grown for seed under contract, the possibility of extracting essential oils from the screenings or foliage of spice crops, such as dill or caraway, can offer increased revenue opportunities.

Wolf said the essential oils industry is growing, noting that her association currently has over 300 members.

“PAMI’s portable extractor is very timely for getting in on a lot of the new products adding essential oils,” she said. “Everything from dog food to the diffusers that go with your air fresheners all have essential oil in them. There are so many Saskatchewan products, whether they be wild-crafted or grown in a field-scale setting, that can be distilled for their essential oils.”

Spice crops alone represent significant acreage in Saskatchewan. In 2005, there were 22,000 acres of coriander seeded and 14,000 acres of caraway planted in Saskatchewan.

However, the amount of material does not always justify the construction of a plant, and some types of raw material require processing at the source: hence, the value of a small-scale portable extractor.

PAMI’s Senior Manager of Research and Development, Phil Leduc, agreed with this perspective, and pointed out that not all of the opportunity lies with seeded crops.

“There are dozens and dozens of wild plants and cultivated plants that are being grown from which it is possible to extract essential oils that can be sold at extremely high prices,” he said. “These essential oils sell in dollars per gram. They are extremely valuable.”

However, a key piece of the puzzle has been missing for Saskatchewan producers to truly capitalize on the opportunity. Wolf said that a portable essential oil extractor could increase the quality of the oil produced, and ultimately the value of the product.

“Currently, Saskatchewan doesn’t have a portable distiller,” she explained. “Some of the crops, like lemon balm, are very sensitive. Once you pick lemon balm, you only have an hour or two, depending on the temperature outside, before it is losing its essential oils.”

For other crops, the lack of a portable distiller has meant a missed opportunity altogether.

“Let’s say wild bergamot, which is a beautiful flowering herb that grows in the southern part of Saskatchewan,” Wolf said. “If you had your distiller down there while it’s in bloom, you would have the best quality oil that you could possibly have. If you had to take it anywhere, it would (reduce the quality). That’s why we’ve never done it, because we have no place close enough to take it to.”

Leduc indicated the essential oil pilot project is coming together nicely.

“At this point in time, we are finishing welding up some of the parts and will be assembling it over the next two or three weeks. We are hoping that, by the end of September, it will be complete and ready to go,” he said.

Wolf sees an opportunity to make an impact beyond the industry.

“This distiller that PAMI is building could go up to any of the small communities up north, where they have a community venture where everybody is bringing in product to distil,” she observed. “You have one tech person running the distiller, and what have you done? You’ve created a huge income stream for that whole community.”

For further information, contact:
Wanda Wolf, President
Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association
Phone: (306) 398-2918
Website: www.saskherbspice.org

Phil Leduc, P. Eng., Senior Manager – Research and Development
Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute
Phone: (306) 682-5033
Fax: (306) 682-5080
Website: www.pami.ca