The Hoodia Plant is Under Seige From Increasing Demand

The LA Times wrote an awesome article back in December 2006 about how the increasing demand of hoodia gordonii is compromising the hoodia plant and the hoodia farming industry as a whole. The price of hoodia is approaching the likes of illegal drugs with a price of $40 an ounce.

Smuggling is on the rise putting strain on an already rare and endangered plant. Government officials in South Africa fear the inevitable interest of organized crime. Although the hoodia industry is small, the LA Times reports that it is rife with fierce, competitive secrecy, quack products and illegal harvesting.

South Africa is the only African country that is allowed to export hoodia gordonii legally. That being said, the amount of hoodia that is actually being exported to Europe and the United States doesn’t add up, which leads authorities to believe there is a great deal of smuggling going on. In 2006, the amount that was exported to the two countries doubled from 22 tons to 49! They’re fearful that if the smuggling continues it will not only further endanger the rare hoodia plant, but will also undermine the hoodia industry as a whole.

Steve Carr, the coordinator of a succulent cultivation project being carried out by Namibia’s National Botanical Research Institute, believes the continued high prices are unsustainable and that the prices may come down as the market matures. Carr is more concerned about the high prices being driven by people who are operating illegally and who aren’t concerned about conserving the plant.

Reference: LATimes.com