INDAGINE CONOSCITIVA SUL MERCATO DELLA PIANTE OFFICINALI E DEI LORO DERIVATI con particolare riferimento alle problematiche delle specie coltivate in Valle Cannobina.

The focus of this work is the market for herbs and their derivatives (e.g. essential oils). In the first part some data about production, import and export are shown. The Italian market depends for 75% on imports; production is generally concentrated in very small areas, farmers’ commercial organization is poor. In the second part the results of a research survey, referring to the year 2000, are presented. The survey involved forty herbal, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food and wholesale retail firms. The survey is focused on: the main herbs/essential oils/etc. utilized; the suppliers relations with regards to wholesalers and commercial firms involved in their transformation; contracts; trends in the demand for herbs, essential oils, etc.; attitudes towards national herbs/essential oils and organic products. The importance of building up long-lasting relations between suppliers and buyng firms and the need to develop and programme production, are stressed. In the last part, some data and information are collected about herbs in a particular area of cultivation (Valle Cannobina, North Italy) and actions to exploit them are then discussed.