ABSTRACT

Cinnamon (or true cinnamon or Sri Lankan cinnamon) is produced and exported from Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Seychelles, while cassia cinnamons are produced and exported from China and Vietnam (Chinese cassia), Indonesia (Indonesian cassia) and India (Indian cassia) (Anon, 1995; Madan, 2001). Together cinnamon and cassia constitute important spices that are traded in the international market and are used by people of many countries. Official statistics on area, production and productivity of cinnamon from producing countries are conflicting and are of doubtful reliability. For many countries only the production figures are available. Further more, as in the case of FAOSTAT, the available statistics do not distinguish between cinnamon and cassia, and provide data on area, production and yield under a single crop head of cinnamon (canella). However, the trade related figures are comparatively complete and make a distinction between cassia and cinnamon. The U.N. Comtrade Database provides country-wise data the on import of whole cinnamon and ground cinnamon listed separately (ITC, 2000). USDA/FAO data sources provide export-import data for ground and whole cinnamon and cassia separately. In both databases cinnamon and cassia are not differentiated. However, cassia leaf oil and cinnamon bark oil imports are listed separately by USDA/FAO.