ABSTRACT
The botanical, chemical, genetic and other aspects of oil-bearing eucalypts are discussed in detail elsewhere in this volume, as are the uses and types of formulations of eucalyptus oil. It is intended, here, to examine the production, trade and markets for the oil. With the possible exception of rutin, for which little or no information on trade and markets – to the extent that trade exists – is available, the volatile oil is the only aromatic/medicinal product of eucalyptus around which has been built an industry of any size. Some of the non-volatile constituents have considerable potential in the pharmaceutical and related fields but their utilisation in this way is, as yet, some way off from commercial realisation. Eucalyptus oil, on the other hand, is one of the largest volume and most widely used essential oils, produced in many parts of the world and on widely differing scales. It is a well established article of commerce and for many countries a valuable source of foreign exchange.
