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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

South Africa to host Commonwealth Medicinal Plants Forum

29 November 2000

More than one hundred people from the private and public sector from 19 Commonwealth African countries and international agencies will participate in a Medicinal Plants Forum to be held in Cape Town, South Africa from 4 to 6 December. Delegates to the Forum will explore ways of improving and encouraging cultivation and conservation of plants so as to increase the production of herbal remedies to provide affordable medicine in Africa and the rest of the world. Participants at the meeting will also discuss trade related issues such as non-tariff barriers, regulation and licensing, patenting standards and quality.

 

The Forum, which is being organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat, London in collaboration with the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (EU-ACP), Brussels and the South AfricanDepartment of Trade and Industry, aims to promote production, processing and trade in medicinal plants and their extracts. The conference participants will include representatives of the local and international pharmaceutical industry, medical experts, herbalists, scientists and companies at the forefront of the processing and export of herbal remedies from Africa. 

The Commonwealth Secretariat will launch its new handbook, A Guide to the European Market for Medicinal Plants and Extracts, at the Forum. The guide details the growth and development of the European herbal industry. It includes a wealth of practical information for producers and exporters of medicinal plants, which will enable them to gain access to Europe, which with 30 per cent of global sales is the world's largest market for medicinal plants. The annual trade in medicinal plants is worth US$ 9 billion worldwide. 

Note to Editors:

A Guide to the European Market for Medicinal Plants and Extracts is available for £15 (plus postage and packaging) from Rupert Jones-Parry, Publications Manager, Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HX. Email r.jones-parry@commonwealth.int Fax+44 20 7839 9081

 Media contact:

Elvis Gannon at the Vineyard Hotel, Cape Town

Tel: +27 21 6833044 Fax: +27-21-6833587 Email: conferencing@vineyard.co.za

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ISSUED BY THE COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION
Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7747 6385/6 Fax: +44 (0)20 7839 9081
Email: info@commonwealth.int