Growers of agarwood, also known as ketsana trees, now have an alternative source of income, after a local businessman has developed a herbal tea from the tree's leaves.
After eight years of carefully perfecting the brew, Mr Souvanh Keosavang has succeeded in producing ketsana tea for herbal beverage fans around the country.
Mr Souvanh, who is the CEO of Thepnimid Pharmacy Import-Export Co., Ltd., invested US$600,000 to build facilities for processing the drink.
The production house is located in Pakxan district, Borikhamxay province, about 150km from Vientiane.
Mr Souvanh is the first producer in the country to use ketsana in this way, and makes several kinds of herbal tea from the tree, which is grown widely throughout the country, particularly in Vientiane, Borikhamxay, Savannakhet and Champassak provinces.
Mr Souvanh's company derives many products from the ketsana tree, giving growers a chance to sell their leaves for processing. Farmers who invest in the crop hope it will bring a large return through selling its highly prized resin.
But for this they have to wait 10 years, and Mr Souvanh says that through his business the growers can still make money from their trees without the wait.
For the purposes of herbal tea production the company can begin using the plants after just nine months, as soon as the leaves are ready.
The company launched its tea product, named “Green Gold”, on the domestic market during the 25th SEA Games last year.
The tea producer has also cooperated with a Vietnamese enterprise to develop another ketsana herbal product to relieve headaches brought on by overconsumption of alcohol.
At present the firm's output is still small as it uses only 300kg per day of raw materials for processing. This is because the company is awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Department of the Ministry of Health before it can increase production.
Farmers sell ketsana leaves to the factory for 2,000 kip per kg.
The factory now has access to a great deal more raw materials than it can process, as Borikhamxay province alone can supply 10 tonnes of leaves per day.
The company plans to export its product to countries in Asia and other regions. It is currently sending sample products to test for standard and quality in countries to which it expects to export.
Mr Souvanh called for the food and drug department to approve his product so his business could continue with its plans, as this was currently holding up further progress on expansion and exports.
The company is planning an additional investment of US$3 million on the expansion.
Mr Souvanh hopes that if his business is successful, ketsana growers in Laos will benefit from selling their leaves to the factory. The company also plans to buy ketsana stems from farmers in the next five years to make another herbal product.
He confirmed that he would not simply sell the stems on to other buyers, and commented that many people grew ketsana in Laos, but not many knew the best methods.
Laos now produces tea made from several different plants.
