Supreme court of India agreed to hear plea against gudka and pan masala manufactures

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New Delhi - 30 may 2011. The Supreme Court of India on Monday agreed to hear a plea against gutka and pan masala manufacturing companies for allegedly using plastic material in sachets in violation of its order banning use of such materials.
The application, filed by an advocate alleged almost all the companies--Pan Parag, RMD Gutka, Dilbag Gutaka, Rajashree Gutka, Rajdarabar Gutka-- are flouting the apex court order which had banned using of plastics in gutka and pan masala sachets after March 1. "Even long after the cut-off date of March 1, fixed by the Supreme Court, all the gutka and paan masala manufacturers are using plastic material in package sachets to sell such product to public. It is a deliberate and ingenious flouting of the law on their parts," advocate Abani Sahu, who filed the application, contended. He submitted these companies continue to use regular plastic material within the outer paper packet. "Many gutka and pan masala companies continue to use regular plastic material within the outward paper packaging material to deceptively conceal the usage of such plastic material and convey a misleading picture of superficial and seemingly visible external compliance with the Supreme Court's order," he said. A bench of justices G S Singhvi and C K Prasad, after hearing his arguments, posted the matter for final hearing on July 6. The apex court had on May 11 issued a contempt notice to the Managing Director of Dharampal Satyapal group of companies, makers of two popular brands of tobacco Rajnigandha and Tulsi, for allegedly defying its order banning use of plastic sachets for sale of their products. The Supreme Court had in December last imposed a ban on the use of plastic in packaging of tobacco products and set March 1 as the deadline within which the tobacco manufacturers need to implement its order. The Supreme Court ruling had come in midst of reports that more than five million children under the age of 15 years in India suffer from various forms of mouth cancers, which is mainly attributed to unregulated consumption of gutkha. In states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, more than 16 per cent mouth cancer patients are children. ================================================

still there is plastic

Gutkha and pan masala manufacturers' new initiative to sell their products in paper and aluminium foil pouches has run into trouble with the pollution control authority stating it could still contain plastic.

The pan masala makers were forced to change the packaging material following a Supreme Court ban on sale of these products in plastic pouches from March 1, 2011. "The pollution control board has so far not permitted the sale of pan masala in any new packing, as the sample provided by the manufacturers was sent to Lucknow pollution board where the results are awaited. "No manufacturer can sell his product until and unless they get a no objection certificate from Lucknow Board," said U.P Pollution Control Board regional officer Radheshyam. He added that sale of pan masala and gutkha in the new pouch prior to the permission from the Pollution Control Board would be in violation of the Supreme Court order, and legal action would be taken against those who indulge in it. The pan masala and gutkha manufacturers said they started selling the products in the new paper and aluminium pouch, after the excise department sent the sample pouch for testing. Kanpur Kirana Association Chairman and one of the city's leading pan masala distributor, Rakesh Agarwal, told PTI Bhasha today that the sample pouch sent to the excise department will be tested for a possible plastic content. He said if it does not meet the yardstick then they would recall the new packing. Agarwal added that the manufacturers are taking necessary precautions to ensure the pouch is plastic free, and also taking in writing from the packaging firms that the material does not contain plastic. Five prominent brands have started selling the products in the new packaging, and other manufacturers are expected to follow suit by 1 April. Agarwal said pan and gutka manufacturers would not raise prices despite switching over to the costlier packaging.

Buyers Market

It’s a buyer’s market. Since December 2010 it has been an uncontrolled down slide of price. Price from 33,000 for a kilo had reached 15,000 for a kilo. Farmers are getting the whole pressure down the line in this supply chain. Gambier prices can again come down, Even though the Gambier production had a considerable drop, it can’t match up with the reduced demand.  

The suppliers and big collectors of Gambier where expecting that the Gambier prices will not drop below 18,000 idr/kg, as it would be difficult for the farmers to survive. But what we saw was that the farmers still survive and still make Gambier. In kapur ix 80-85% and pasair selatan 60% of the farmers are working for Gambier.  In Kapur ix the farmers have no other alternative other than to make Gambier. Yes there is rubber and palm, but not all Gambier farmers can convert themselves for these commodities. Only around 10-15% of Gambier farmers can work in palm and rubber plantations. The other farmers have to make Gambier for their livelihood. In Pasasir Selatan, the situation is different, when the Gambier prices where high last years a lot of fishermen, paddy farmers started doing Gambier, for them to change back to their previous work fields would be easy.

Quality of the Gambier tends to improve a bit due to the less demand. As farmers very well know that it would be difficult for them to sell if the quality is bad. Suppliers and collectors are pressing the prices as they don’t know what would be the prices for the coming week.

Although Local news papers are reporting continuously about the drop in Gambier prices and its consequences among the farmers. the farmers are hoping that the prices to go by July 2011.

Gambier Export Volume form Indonesia

Indonesian market report may 30th to 4 th june 2011

The market had crashed further, Both Exporters and big collectors are not showing any interest in procurement. Most of the people are waiting till July to know the fate of Gambier trade.

Big suppliers are trying to offer more cargo to the market due to this down trend and in turn again pushing down the market.

Local speculators/stockists are not in the market as they are expecting the price of gambier to come below 15,000idr/kg.


On 30th the local market where 16,000idr/kg for cargo from limapuluh kota and 17000 idr/kg form sigantur/surantih market and by Saturday 4th June the prices are at 15,000idr/kg at limapuluh kota and 16000idr/kg at siganur/surantih market

Gambier leaf prices  also had dropped below 750idr/kg

Indonesian market report may 2011 - week 4

Sunday, The market opened very dull at Kapur IX  and Payakumbuh Markets.

Monday there was no deliveries from suppliers to exporters based at Padang/Medan/Jakarta. Starting price of the week range from 18000 to 18500 for a kilogram.

Mid week there was some interest among the exporters, exporters stick to minimum procurement.

Indonesian market report may 2011 - week 3

The week started with no buyers,,, price ranging from 19,000 idr to 21,000 idr,,,, prices are expected to move further low towards 18,000 levels

As tuesday was holiday , the Market reopened on wednesday, As expected the price opened at 18500 to 19500 pr kg.

By the weekend the prices had reached 18000 per kg

Gambier changed my life



Irmantedi

This is a life story of Mr Irmantedi. This 43 year old is been a supplier of gambier since 1992. 19 years of working with gambier give him a lot of experience as well as changed his life.

Irmantedi was born on 28/8/1968 at jl suka karya, ke nagarian lubuk Alai, kecamatan kapur ix. He had finished his high school and went to Jakarta in search of job. But it dint last long as he need to get back to his village for taking care of his old parents.

Year 1991 Irmantedi has no house. He and his wife were staying at his wife house. That is the time he decided to do business. He sold his wife’s gold ornaments and got IDR 15 million.

1992 he started to buy gambier locally from local farmers. But he did not know where he will sell it. Then he started to sell to his cousin who sells his gambier to Gunung Linton’s (Medan based Chinese export house) agent. He used to supply 3MT per week with a price range of IDR 5000/kg to IDR 8000/kg. He worked like this for two years

1994 -1996 He started supply of cargo directly to users. He had found out that there is local consumption of Gambier in Indonesia and started supplying to Traders at Jakarta & Semarang. He was still supplying 3MT per week and price ranging from IDR 7500 to IDR 9000 per kilo.

1996 he was well known in the village as a genuine gambier buyer among the farmers. This year he becomes active in local politics as he has some local support. 1996 He started to supply his cargo to H Nisar for the next two years. He had increased the volume of his business and did 5MT per week with a price ranging from IDR 7500 to IDR 1200 per kilo

1998 he started supplying to Mr. Sanjay a Jakarta based trader. He started supplying 6.5MT per week. Price at this year ranged from IDR 7500 to IDR 12000 per kilo. He worked with sanjay next three years.

In between that in the year 1999 he stood in elections representing the party PDIP to become the panjayath member and he got elected because of his support from the farmers at this region and form 1999 to 2001 he was the member of the panjayath.

In the year 2001-2002 he had two buyers. He was supplying 2 small trucks per week. He supply to Mr. Thomas at Padang and to Mr. Sandeep at Jakarta, still the price ranging from IDR 7500 to IDR 15000 per kilo

In the year 2001 he was elected as the panjayath president of Lubuk alai , He was the president till 2007.

2002 to 2003 he supply to Mr. Sibin at Padang and to Mr. Sandeep at Batubersurat his volume was around 15MT and the price ranging from IDR 7500 to IDR 15000 per kilo.

2003 to 2004 he supply his cargo to Lampung for Mr Thomas, by that time he increased his volume to 30MT per week and the price was ranging from IDR 12000 to IDR 17000 per kilo

Year 2004 Mr. Thomas opened a godown at Padang and was supply to Padang. Next three years he worked with Mr. Thomas. The price of gambier shot up,, the price was ranging from IDR 15,000 to IDR 23,000 per kilo. He was still supplying 30MT per week.

2007 till date he had increased his volume to 45MT per week. He supply to Mr. Sibin and Mr. Ankit (exporters based out of Padang), Price of Gambier was ranging from IDR 20,0000 to IDR 32,000/kg.



Irmantedi

“Gambier had given me everything; I started my business with 15 million. Now I have 3 trucks, 2 cars, a house, a godown, a gambier plantation and 50 farmer groups working for me. My 20 year old son is now helping me in the procurement, other kids are studying.

I am working closely with the mayor of lima puluh kota for implementing quality standards for gambier whereby we have some quality specs for gambier like coffee and cocoa.

yes gambier prices and market is very bad this time, but I am for sure before lebaran (Muslim holidays) this year it will pick up

Irmantedi”

Indian Supreme Court issues contempt notice to makers of Rajnigandha pan masala

The Supreme Court today issued contempt notice to the managing director of Dharampal Satyapal group of companies, makers of two popular brands of tobacco, for allegedly defying its order banning use of plastic sachets for sale of their products.

A bench of Justice GS Singhvi and Justice AK Ganguly also asked the Centre to ensure total compliance of its December 2010 order "in letter and spirit".

The bench asked Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium to file an affidavit on the compliance so far carried out by the states/Union Territories.

The bench passed the direction on a fresh application moved by an NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), complaining that the manufacturers of the gutka pan masala -Rajnigandha and Tulsi - in brazen violation of the apex court order continue to sell the products in plastic sachets.

It sought contempt action against Rajeev Kumar, Managing Director of Dharampal Satyapal group, for selling tobacco product in plastic cover in violation of the apex court order.

Counsel Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, alleged that the company in a bid to circumvent the apex court's directions against sale of the products in plastic pouches was deliberately marking the sale as "only for export" though it is being sold within the country.

He pointed out that even though the products are marked as for exports, the sale price was marked as Rs six in Indian currency, indicating that it was for domestic sale.

rajanigandha pack

"Dharampal Satyapal group, whose turnover runs into thousands of crores of rupees and which manufactures big brands like Rajnigandha and Tulsi is packing its products in plastic material even after March 1," the NGO submitted.

The petitioner also annexed some samples of tobacco product with its petition.

"This, prima facie, amounts to a serious violation of court's order and thus constitutes a contempt of court. This violation by such a big group could not have been done without the tacit understanding with the enforcement agencies that no action would be taken against the business group," the PIL petition said.

The NGO also sought contempt action against ministry of environment and forests secretary.

In a blow to gutkha and pan masala manufacturers, the Supreme Court had in December last imposed a ban on the use of plastic in packaging of tobacco products and set March 1 as the deadline within which the tobacco manufacturers need to implement its order.

The Supreme Court ruling had come in midst of reports that more than five million children under the age of 15 years in India suffer from various forms of mouth cancers, which is mainly attributed to the unregulated consumption of gutkha. In states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, more than 16% mouth cancer patients are children.

this is a copy of report published in www.dnaindia.com on 11th may 2011

Indonesian market report may 2011 - week 2

As expected the week started dull,

Its a buyers market all along. Farmers/suppliers have stock in hand and exporters does not have fresh orders....

Indonesian price range from IDR20,000/kg to IDR 23,000/kg

Most of the exporters are having financial tightness

Batik and gambier

"Batik prints" and " Batik dress" is famous all around the world. The Batik dresses are considered the most formal dress of Indonesia.

Ever wonder how Original Batik's are made.

This traditional dress is the traditional dress of Indonesia. Each colour of Batik and each patterns in batik have different meanings.

You might be wondering what is that to do with Gambier

The Brown colour is a stabilizing colour in batik.  helping you feel connected to earth.it helps with being more nurturing and supportive. Too  much brown though can decrease your feelings of self worth

The Brown colour is mainly made by the tannin in gambier. Gambier is one of the major ingredient in making the brown and black colour.

amazing is int it....

woman making batikprint

batik painting

......for more details write to us......

Adulteration

The Major adulterant used in Gambier are..

1.      Urea (fertilizer)

2.      Sand

3.      Paddy Husk

4.      Rice flour

5.      Duck/chicken feed

6.      Rock Salt

7.      Textile Colour

urea fertilizer 

wantex is the local textile dye

Adulterants are used for two reasons

1.      The adulterants are used to increase the volume of gamer, hence to generate more money by doing so.

2.      If Gambier liquor is mixed with adulterants then the Gambier liquor will solidify much faster and Gambier once molded will get dried also very faster

3.      By adding adulterants like urea the colour of the Gambier will be brown to reddish brown.

Kapur ix farmers are worried more about the "plastic rules" and "Gudka ban" in India

Kapur ix is the heaven of Gambier, this sub-district of Lima Puluh Kota has land area of 723.36sqkm mostly hills and valley, ranging from 140 to 720 m above sea level. The Population of Kapur ix is 26, 479. 87% of the population are farmers, 10% traders/suppliers and 3% others.

90% of the farmers in Kapur ix is Gambier farmers. Kapur ix is the largest Gambier producing sub-district in the whole of Indonesia. They produce over 6500MT of Gambier annually.  As Gambier being the major cash crop, they have “farmer cooperative societies” run by the local government. But unfortunately these “farmer cooperative societies” are not running properly.

gambier farmer at Lubuk Alai - Kapur ix

Traders/suppliers from kapur ix have tie-ups with big exporters/export houses in cities like Padang, Medan and Jakarta.

Farmers of kapur ix are worried about the “Plastic rules” and the “gudka ban” in india. As India is the biggest market for their Gambier produce.  

Due to the new regulations on paan masala packing in india. The prices of Gambier had drastically gone down and had affected the economy of Kapur ix badly. The news on ban of gudka at India had been a matter of concern for the Gambier farmers in the sub-district. The suppliers are keeping a track of the Indian Market through their respective Exporters.

Price of Gambier had crashed from IDR 32,000.00/kg at December 2010 to IDR 17,000.00/kg March 2011. Currently the market had picked up slightly to a bit over IDR 20,000.00/kg.

Gambier farmers are now working in Rubber & Palm Oil plantations as well as migrating to different states in search for jobs. A price below IDR 20,000.00 /kg for Gambier is not viable for the farmers.

Pasar gadang and Chinese traders

After the 2009 earthquake, china town at Padang was totally destroyed. Chinese traders got migrated to Medan and Jakarta.

Chinese temple at Padang

The town is now getting back to business. Most of the traditional Chinese traders in Padang trade in agricultural commodities like Nutmeg, Mace, Cocoa, Coffee, Betelnuts, Gambier and Cloves. These traders seldom export their goods overseas. They prefer selling their products locally.

Chinese traders were not interested in doing Gambier till last December (2010).

In the month of February 2011 and March 2011 these traders had bought Gambier. This Gambier which they bought is in the range of 20,000IDR to 25,000IDR. They keep the Gambier as a long term investment and speculating that the prices to go up to 30,000IDR levels.  The Holdings of Gambier stock range from 3Mt to 10MT per person.

Grades of Gambier

Gambier Crop Size

Difference in Production North and West Sumatra

The major differences are -

1. Planting - In West Sumatra they make seedlings at nursery for planting, but in North Sumatra (PakPak and Dairi ) they have Seedlings as well as Stem cut method for planting.
2. Harvesting of Gambier Leaves - In West Sumatra, normally farmers harvest only the matured leaves, and harvest form the bottom stems leaving the young leaves, but in North Sumatra they trim off all the leaves of the plant
3. Twigs of Gambier - In West Sumatra twigs of gmabier is also used for boiling along with the leaves for making gambier extract, while in North Sumatra they only use leaves for the production of extract and the twigs are sun dried and used as firewood
4. Boiling of Leaves - In West Sumatra leaves and twigs are tied up into a bundle and is steamed for 30 min, while in North Sumatra leaves are boiled in water in closed aluminum vessels for 30 mins
5. Reuse of Boiled and Pressed leaves - In West Sumatra after pressing the steamed leaves are not reused, but they are repressed, while in North Sumatra the used leaves are again boiled and repressed
6. Hygiene - North Sumatran farmers produce gambier more hygienically compared to the west Sumatran farmers
7. Adulteration - North Sumatra consider gambier as a food and does not adulterate, while in West Sumatra its not the case

........ need more information please write to us,,,,,

lumping up problems

Lumping of gambier is a killer problem,,,

Gambier has a tendency to absorb moisture. Even your Gambier is dry enough it absorbs moisture from the surroundings. If gambier has moisture it tends to stick each other forming lumps.

The chemistry behind it is,, the Gambier is having catechin, the catechin gets oxidized when it is in contact with water and form cutch ( cutch is complex tannin). This cutch is like black in colour and will easily stick each other.

If Gambier is lumped then the catechin percentage will drop drastically

The main causes of lumping are

1. improper drying
2. improper storage
3. improper transportation
4. climate change

Precautions to  be taken for not lumping are

·         If the Gambier is dried to 14% moisture we can reduce the chances of lumping. Like we say “poison is not required in bulk,, only a single drop can destroy the whole" likewise while drying Gambier ensure all the pieces are properly dried. If a single piece of Gambier is not properly dried then it can spoil the whole lot. Sun drying is preferred as it allows uniform drying.

·         Gambier must be stored in gunny bags with inner PP. After drying the Gambier must be kept in open to see that it is gaining moisture from the atmosphere or not before packing. The materials must not be poured directly on the ground as it can absorb moisture from the floor. Always store Gambier in wooden pallets and never store wet Gambier in plastic bags.

·         Never transport your Gambier cargo on rainy days. On rainy days the normal atmospheric humidity will be high and there are chances that Gambier can absorb moisture. Always prepare your truck/container with Kraft paper and with sufficient humidity absorbents like silica gel.

·         Climate is also a great factor, if you are transporting your cargo from a tropic climate to a cold/rainy climate. The chances of moisture getting in will be high. 

·         Please also take a note that your Gambier containers will be exposed to drastic climate changes in high seas, (cold nights, hot noon and rainy evenings). Always ensure that you have properly ventilated and no leak containers for transportation.

.....for more information please write to us.....

"COUNT",,,, counting less

Gambier Count

The Pakistan, Bangladesh and Surabaya grade

Count grade is the worst grade in gambier with respect to quality, but the beautiful grade with respect to the appearance. The grade has its name because its sold in counts in the destination markets. The material is supposed to have 100pcs in a kilogram and the colour must be brown to yellow.

Farmers mix urea to get these colours. and to get the unique uniform shape.

The main production markets for this grade is Gelugur, Sialang, Duran tinggi, Murapeti and Lubuk alai.

In all this kapur ix markets the farmers tend to produce less of this count material and have a trend to make booch. The main reason for this is the less demand at destination markets.

.... for more information please write to us......

what happened to Glass Ash ?

Till  2008, the Glass Ash testing method or the sedimentation method was the only means to check the quality of gambier.

Procedure of the Sedimentation method goes like this.... gambier samples are boiled with 4 times water and poured to a beaker, the sediment percentage is then calculated.

Importers/Exporters/collectors think that the low the sedimentation level means more the catechin and hence more yield. or lower percentage of sedimentation means the less gambier is adulterated.

This method lost its popularity, as farmers started mixing water soluble adultants in gambier, like "rock salt"

Some Indian Traders at Kanpur Markets are still testing their gambier by glass ash method as their quality norms for trading.

By scientific tests, it has been proved that the amount of ash percentage does not determine the amount of catechin.
 "a low glass ash cargo can have  low catechin and a high glass ash can have high catechin as well"

Catechin percentage had become the key quality parameter for the business now.


.....for more details please write to us......

Production down by 30%

Its the begning of the fifth month since the price of the gambier had crashed.  Production of gambier is down by 30%.

• Most of the farmers are holding stock at high value and does not want to sell at a lower price
• Price of rubber had shot up and latex market is in a boom now. many of the gambier farmers at lima puluh kota region had stopped working gambier and shifted to rubber tapping.
• Sigantur and Suranti area its the paddy harvesting season as a result the production from this areas are also less

The production might drop further if the prices are not picking up.

....for more information please write to us......

Indonesian market report may 2011 - week 1

First week of May 2011 started with not much movement in the market. Prices where pritty much stable .As there is not much demand form Indian Markets, Indonesian exporters where sticking on to low volume procurements.

most of the collection markets in village level had been empty.

Beginning of the week saw some slight interest from the Indian Importers, but towards the end  of the week the demand had gone down. 

Export Price ranged from $2800/MT to $2900/MT CNF Indian Ports for the week

expecting a very slow start next week.

..... for more details write to us.......

   

where is gambier plants found ?

Gambier plants are found in the island of sumatra, mainly in the states of west sumatra, riau, north sumatra. 

Padang city the capital of west sumatra being the major trading hub for gambier.

The growing Belts and Major markets of gambier are

1. KAPUR IX
1. Gelugur
2. Sialang
3. Durian Tinggi
4. Koto Bangun
5. Murapeti
6. Lubuk Alai
7. Koto Lamo
2. PANKALAN
1. Rimbo Datar
2. Gunung Malintan
3. Koto Alam
4. Mangilang
5. Pankalan
3. HARAU
1. Laban
2. Harau
3. Talang
4. MAHAT
1. Mahat
2. Limbanang
5. PASAMAN
6. PASISIR SELATAN
1. Sigantur
2. Suranti
7. SIDIKALANG

.... for more information please write to us...... 

what is gambier ?

Gambier plant "uncaria gambier" is a tropical shrub wildly grown in the tropical forests of Sumatra.
The Growing conditions for this plant are

• 200m to 800m above sea level
• hilly slopes where there is no water logging
• annual rainfall of 2500mm to 3000mm
• temperature ranging 26 to 28 degree,
• humidity 70 to 80pct
• soil ph 4.8 to 5.5

 there are three varieties of the plant at west Sumatra named "udang", "cubadak" and "riau".  we can distinguish by the size and number of leaves in a branch.

"Gambier" is called for the extract of the plant. or so to say; Gambier is an extract from the leaves of a tropical shrub "Uncaria Gambier" plant.

The leaves of the plant are boiled and pressed to get the gambier liquor and the solidified liquor is then made/moulded into shapes and sun dried.

The trade of Gambier has a history of 30-40 years in bulk. Previously it was used as a natural colouring agent in textile, especially in batiks.

Early 80' gambier was traded by the Singapore based exporters,

Even though gambier is produced in central Sumatra, the main port of exports are Jakarta and Medan , these ports give freight advantage while compared with West Sumatran Ports.

...... for more information please write to us.....