Tamarind monograph.pdf - Crops for the Future

statistics are unavailable for these countries but their production is not
thought to match that of India and Thailand.
National production in Australia is less than 6 tonnes, which reflects the
cultural mix of people residing in the country as tamarind is primarily
consumed by people of Asian origin. Most of the production is from
Queensland and available from May-September.
Costa Rica is a relatively small scale producer. It exports small quantities of
tamarind to North America, though production is increasing (Figure10.2).
Tamarind Production - COSTA RICA
Kilos
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
Figure 10.2. Tamarind production in Costa Rica
119
Total Production
In Puerto Rico, there is no commercial production of tamarind, but the fruits
grow wild throughout the island and in home gardens. The estimated
production of tamarind in Puerto Rico in 1977 was 23 tonnes (Salkukhe and
Desai, 1984). Like Puerto Rico, most other tamarind growing countries have
no commercial production, and fruits are collected from trees that grow in
the wild or in home gardens for household level processing and
consumption, with any excess being marketed.
Other than local collection and sale of tamarind in Africa, in general there is
no commercial production. Tamarind has not gained the same importance in
Africa as it has in Asia. Introduced Indian and American cultivars are
currently more productive than African ones.
10.4 Employment
The production, processing, sale and use of tamarind products create
employment opportunities for people in producing countries. At present
tamarind is considered to be a Minor Forest Product (MFP) classified in
India by the National Commission on Agriculture (quoted in Sekar et al.,
1996) together with fibres and flosses; grasses and bamboo canes; essential