Need for a Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC) in Berhampur

There is a need to develop the present Technology Support Centre for Kewra Industry in Berhampur as a full fledged Fragrance and flower development centre on the lines of FFDC, Kannauj. Further, a research institute for the same can also be included under the development centre. Presently the Berhampur cluster (http://www.ffdcindia.org/clusterberhampur.htm) is only the third such cluster in India of its kind on fragrance, the others being Patna and Jhalawar. All these three clusters come under the FFDC, Kannauj. In view of the strong output base of Kewra in the Berhampur region which caters to the need of the entire country, the establishment of FFDC along with the research institute has become an imperative.
Ganjam district of Orissa produces 85-90% of Kewra in our country. The Kewra flowers are used for production of Kewra essence for flavouring of syrup, soft drinks and other food preparations. It is also used in certain perfume blends. In our country, Kewra is being cultivated in the coastal belt of Orissa and to some extent in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. It is estimated that around 3 million trees are grown on about of 5000 ha of land that produces more than 30 million spodices (oil bearing flowers) per year in Ganjam District alone. The spodices are used for production of Kewra oil/essence. With the rapid industrialization and change in the food habits of the common masses of the country, the consumption of Kewra oil is increasing day by day. Presently, the Kewra shrubs are not being cultivated in a planned manner, the demand is met through wildly grown shrubs. Kewra shrubs are not available in sufficient quantity; therefore there is a need to develop proper agronomy and cultivation techniques for increasing production of Kewra oil.