Story of Mint in India: How Farmers lead triumph over China #indian #agriculture #CIMAP

"Mint or Mentha has now become an important cash-crop of India and particularly of the state of Uttar Pradesh. It was only about four decades ago, in 1980s, that cultivation of mint on large scale started in India. China had then taken over the market of mint oil, menthol and other derivatives from Japan and Brazil. But soon, due to efforts of Indian research and development organizations, along with hard work of farmers, India snatched this position from China. From 1990s India has been the market leader, exporting of 75% mint derivatives used worldwide. Mint is widely used in Pharmaceutical, Cosmetic, FMCG and Flavoring industries. Although global prices of mint had plummeted in 2000s, but consequently it gained and become stable as of now. Farmers in UP have taken up Mint as a Zaid crop for better returns as compared to traditional crops."