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Historic Drought Threatens Ethiopia's Myrrh Trees and Luxury Perfume Supply
Researchers say direct sales could help harvesters earn more as drought cuts resin output and threatens young myrrh trees.
- Myrrh trees in the Horn of Africa face a historic drought, threatening resin supplies critical to luxury perfumes marketed by Tom Ford, Comme des Garcons and Jo Malone. Trees that once formed dense forests in Ethiopia's Somali region are in danger, locals say.
- While perfumes containing the resin sell for as high as $500 a bottle, harvesters earn between $3.50 and $10 per kilogram, creating vast profit disparities that middlemen capture along opaque supply chains.
- Historic drought and livestock grazing are decimating young trees; local elder Mohamed Osman Miyir warned that animals 'eat the buds' of seedlings, hindering forest regeneration as the arid region faces its most severe water shortage in years.
- Researchers led by Anjanette DeCarlo, an expert in sustainable supply chains at the University of Vermont, and Stephen Johnson, owner of FairSource Botanicals, visited the region earlier this year to establish direct markets for harvesters.
- Communities in the Somali region hope direct trade will support sustainable livelihoods as the climate crisis threatens their traditional harvesting methods. Securing better prices remains essential to preserving both the trees and the ways of life that depend on them.
12 Articles
12 Articles
A Key Ingredient to Luxe Perfumes Is Under Threat
The critical note in some of the world's most well-known perfumes is myrrh, a tree resin from the Horn of Africa that is under pressure from what experts call a historic drought. Threatened by the lack of water and nibbled by starving livestock, the trees that once formed a dense...
Drought threatens myrrh tree key to luxury perfumes and African incomes
Myrrh, a key ingredient in some of the world’s most well-known perfumes, is under threat in Ethiopia as a historic drought and starving livestock endanger the trees that produce the resin.
The myrrh tree that’s key to luxury perfumes and African incomes is threatened by drought
The critical note in some of the world's most well-known perfumes is myrrh, a tree resin from the Horn of Africa that is under pressure from what experts say has been a historic drought.
AFCADDE— The key note in some of the world’s best-known perfumes is myrrh, a tree resin from the Horn of Africa that is under pressure due to what experts call a historical drought. According to locals, the trees that once formed a dense forest in the Somali region of Ethiopia, threatened by lack of water and bitten by hungry cattle, are in danger. Earlier this year, researchers supported by the American Association of Herbal Products visited a …
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