Sea Buckthorn (Part 3)

In this concluding part of the series, I will enlighten you about the pioneering work done by some Government Departments and institutions that triggered the gainful utilization of Sea Buckthorn or Leh Berry.

As we all know, the versatile Leh Berry contains a good quantity of Vitamin E, and its content is higher than many fruits like apricot, mango, orange, banana, peach, etc. This fruit is not available to the masses or not as popular as other fruits in India basically for two reasons. One, sea buckthorn grows in the remote cold places of Ladakh and Lahul Spiti, and naturally, its transportation and marketing become difficult, compounded with its limited shelf-life. Secondly, the taste of sea buckthorn is not as sweet as compared to the other fruits. So raw fruit marketing is difficult, and even if one makes it possible, the profit margins become thinner. So it is always better to sell the value-added products of this fruit.

Sea buckthorn berries are edible and nutritious, but if taken raw, they often taste sour and astringent and give an oily feeling. Because of this, they are not popular in their pure form. So, they are mixed with other fruit concentrates and then marketed.

Sea buckthorn juice contains a good amount of amino acids, high oleic acid, and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which give it anti-oxidant properties. Sea buckthorn seed oil also contains omega-7 and omega-9 fatty acids. Sea buckthorn (Himalayan Leh Berry) Extract Capsules are a rich source of omega 3, 6, 9, and the rarest of Omega 7.

It is now being used in anti-ageing face creams and other cosmetic products as well. Today, Godrej and other big companies are using sea buckthorn berries for manufacturing juices but perhaps the berries are not from Leh and are from different areas. Though they have not disclosed the source, perhaps their berries come from Russia, Kazakhstan, and China. So, the Leh berry has gone into the background despite the initial flip, and all these are related to management issues and Governmental impediments. The creation of Ladakh as a Union Territory is expected to put Leh Berry on the business track again. Among the other Himalayan areas, the Valley of Lahul-Spiti is growing a good quantity of sea buckthorn, and from this area, this wonder berry is feeding several juice factories that are operating at a low scale. Despite all the trade and business-related problems, sea buckthorn, of late, has become a good source of earnings there for the villagers.

Sea buckthorn Harvesting and Processing in Ladakh: Pertinent Points

There are two major reasons for the poor harvesting of Sea buckthorn. One, its harvesting season, mainly in September, coincides with the harvesting period of other crops in Ladakh, and secondly, the very short period of 20-25 days and time of harvesting of Leh berries (Berries of sea buckthorn) is in the morning hours only, as per DIHAR.

Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR, an organization under Defence Research & Development, DRDO) also developed the technology for preparing a beverage from its highly acidic fruit (this was because the sea buckthorn berry juice doesn’t freeze in the sub-zero temperatures of Siachen or Drass-Kargil areas). The patented technology was then transferred to self-help groups, NGOs, and local entrepreneurs.

In 2000-01, SFAC (Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, made excellent efforts in popularising sea buckthorn use and harvesting and attracting companies to undertake a value-added project for sea buckthorn.

SFAC did good work on sea buckthorn berries and initiated its processing by a company in a joint venture for making juices and called it “Leh Berry Juice.” Leh Berry or sea buckthorn berry has an excellent content of Vitamin C and other antioxidants and amino acids, flavones, etc. Vitamin C content in its berries ranges from 500 to 909 mg per 100g as compared to that of fresh orange juice containing 35-56 mg/100 ml and Aonla containing 478.5 mg/100 ml. This is the importance of the sea buckthorn berries.

After SFAC took up the development of sea buckthorn in 2001, harvesting of its berries began. Leh berry harvesting is done for a short period of 20-30 days in September. During this period, a good berry collector, on average, makes around Rs.35,000 to 45,000 in one month. This particularly helps the women and the poor section of society, and as per the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA)’s Report, it constitutes 67.4% of the workforce. The said Report also says that the “Sea buckthorn berry is a delicate and highly perishable one. It needs to be processed on the same day of harvesting. There is a need to develop cold chain facilities in major Sea buckthorn growing areas to prolong the time between harvest and processing”.

It has been noted that over 90% of the sea buckthorn is sold after primary processing. The government in Ladakh needs to consider that seriously, as the primary process is just the beginning of the value addition. If facilities for secondary processing are provided to the villagers under Government support, the economy of Ladakh will be uplifted.

Anyway, the fact remains that, to date, Indian companies have not been able to tap even 5% of the sea buckthorn produce, and thus, there is much scope for development. If we can harvest the existing stock, then at least 20-25 companies can come up in Ladakh itself. But then the Government will have to be proactive and be a facilitator as the Indian policies are yet to be conducive to a good business environment. But at the same time, companies like (Ladakh Foods Limited) and LFL jump into the fray without any real understanding of the business, any idea of the possible problems, and the local ethos, perhaps depending on the SFAC’s Report of good business prospects in this field.

Certain companies like Nutriorg are selling sea buckthorn juice, but their sea buckthorn is probably not from Leh. They are saying the juice is from Himalayan Berries, which could be anywhere in the Himalayas or even the imported Bhutanese or Chinese Sea buckthorn juice concentrate.

There is a good demand for Leh berries in Central and Eastern India, but unless the harvesting techniques are improved, one cannot expect a real development of the business in this commodity. This is one area that we should have perfected in twenty years after 2001 since SFAC, NAFED & Ladakh Food launched their Joint Venture in making Leh Berry juices as per prescribed norms. Sadly, we are only a shade better than the 2001 scenario.

Alas, we do not learn the lessons, nor do we improve with time.

• Even after 2001, we had not focused on the business related to sea buckthorn. The Leh Berry story is just another example.

• Sea buckthorn is one potential source of economic upliftment for Ladakh and other Leh Berry-growing areas in the cold deserts of the Himalayas.

• Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare woke up after 17 years, though SFAC is the society funded by MOA & FW, and in April 2018, they advised the State Horticulture Mission, Government of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim & Arunachal Pradesh to go for sea buckthorn plantations and circulated a report on it. I am not sure if the same has percolated to the new Union Territory of Ladakh.

Now, it is to be seen how many years the states would take to implement the Ministry’s suggestions.

The new UT of Ladakh is awaiting a sea change in its earnings, and for that, the GOI needs to take a proactive stance in this arena.