General Otulook:

September 17, 2004

Cumin
Market firm from Turkey and some increase in the last couple of days. Still Turkey has not the price that Syria is offering at lower levels. Cumin crop in Turkey was small this year and estimated at only 8 to 10.000 M/t. We forsee firm prices during the rest of the season for Turkish material.

Anise
Weak in the last couple of weeks. Prices are not influenced anymore by TEKEL which used to be the monopol company for the production of the famous Turkish anise drink called `Raki`. Now other companies can produce this to. This has given a more stable market. Crop in Turkey was good. We expect prices to stay between the 1300 – 1600 level this season.

Blue Poppy Seeds
Firm but no increase yet as demand is regular but does not put pressure on the prices. Crop is good in Turkey and increase is expected when Eastern European producers are running out of stocks but that will only be most likely in the 2nd half of the season.

Fennel Seeds
Weak as full new crop available at this stage. We see always increase later on in the season when good grades become scarce as crop harvested is always small in Turkey with usual between 2 – 4000 M/t.

Laurel Leaves
New crop in full swing but prices are firm for pressed material FAQ and Semi Select. We doubt if prices will go to lower levels in the coming months. Hong Kong became large buyer of pressed material which is influencing the market strongly. Demand for Hand Select material is in general decreasing as European buyers not willing to pay very high prices for hand select material.

Oregano
Collecting of new crop has come close to an end. Large amounts has been bought by exporters in the last weeks as price level of raw material was attractive. Prices have stablelized. It seems and the info that we get is that around 70 up to 80% of the raw material is in stock of exporters so that in the domestic market / traders there is not that much merchandise. Of course exporters hoping for higher prices in the coming months but this will all depend on the demand from outside by importers. A higher demand in the coming months will give for sure a firmer market. For large quantities and good quality is is very wise to cover yourselve untill the next new crop July 2005. We do not expect a downwards trend in the above price levels given.

Sun Dried Tomatoes
Drying of the tomatoes is finished and weather conditions have been excellent with no rain reported in the Aegean area during drying and low humidity of the air is always an advantage for the producers. Now exporters are in full production to pack either in bulk or in retail finished products like Sun Dried Tomatoes in jars on oil with spices and herbs.


Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any more information or firm C + F quotes for above products.