100,000 Tons of Baobab Produced in 2008

What will happen when Baobab goes Global?

In reponse to an article published in June in the New York Times we have posted a response from Jonathan Landrey Chief Executive of PhytoTrade Africa.

We are delighted that Dawn Starin is as excited as we are about the potential economic benefits to Africans of the growing international interest in baobab as a superfruit ("What will happen when the Baobab goes global?) However, her concerns that the trade threatens forests and household wealth are thankfully based on conjecture not fact.

PhytoTrade Africa is a non-profit trade association that has gained regulatory approval for international trade in baobab. We have developed the market with exactly the sort of economic, social and environmental safeguards that Starin is calling for.

The existing population of over 28 million baobab trees in southern Africa produces over 100,000 tons of Baobab powder per annum for market - several times more than the highest prediction of commercial demand. Far from threatening forests, ethical trade in baobab incentivizes African communities to protect and sustainably manage their local trees rather than clearing them, thus protecting biodiversity.

Jonathan Landrey
Chief Executive, PhytoTrade Africa