© Republic of Turkey – Ministry of Trade, 2019 0

ESSENTIAL OILS: TURKISH ROSE OIL

Essential oils are aromatics or odorous, oily liquids (sometimes semi-liquid or solid) obtained
from parts of plants, such as flowers, buds, seeds, leaves, twigs, bark, herbs, woods, fruits
and roots. Essential oils are mainly used in the food industry as flavoring agents, in the
perfume industry for fragrances and in the pharmaceutical industry for adding taste or smell
or suppressing the less desirable medicine taste.

Owing to Turkey’s suitable climatic and ecological conditions, hundreds of medical and
aromatic plants are cultivated or gathered from the nature. Turkey is one of the countries
best suited for organic cultivation.

In Turkey, there are many plants from which essential oils are produced and rose is the most
popular one.

What is Rose Oil?

Rose oil is steam distilled from the flowers of the Rose damascena. Rose oil, its extracts
and derives are among the most important ingredients of natural perfume. They have
remarkable diffusive power and are used in many types of perfume bases, particularly
blending well with other florals.

Rose oil is a very expensive essential oil, partly due to the lack of quality natural and
synthetic substitutes. The short flowering time of the Rose damascena is another reason for
its high price.

History of the Turkish Rose damascena

Rose damascena was brought to Anatolia in 1870 by immigrants from Bulgaria. In 1888
cultivation of the rose began in Isparta and in 1892 the production of rose oil was
accomplished by a person named “Müftüzade İsmail Efendi”. For years, rose oil was
produced in simple and primitive boilers which Muftuzade Ismail Efendi called “Sitil”. This
method of production continued up to 1935 until Atatürk, the founder of Republic of Turkey,
first came to Isparta and instructed the Minister of Economy to build a large industrial plant.
Then the agricultural cooperative, “Gülbirlik-Gül Gülyağı ve Yağlı Tohumlar Tarım Satış
Kooperatifleri Birliği”, established the first rose oil plant in 1958 and other rose oil complexes
in 1967. Today, rose oil production in Turkey is realized mostly in industrial plants.

PRODUCTION OF ROSE OIL

Rose cultivation for mainly rose oil production takes place in Isparta, in the south-west part
of Anatolia in Turkey. The Turkish rose oil sector has significant production and export
capacity.

Turkey is among the top producers of rose oil in the world. World-famous “Turkish Rose Oil”
is produced in large quantities in Turkey. Rose oil production has been realised for over 100
years in Isparta. That is why Isparta is called the “Rose District”. Roses are also cultivated
in the Afyon, Burdur and Denizli districts. Approximately 1.5 tons of rose oil and 7 tons of
rose concrete are produced in Turkey annually.

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Rose Oil Production Areas: Isparta, Afyon, Burdur, Denizli

The areas of rose cultivation expanded and cultivation began in Afyon and Denizli in 1989
in addition to Isparta and Burdur.

“Gülbirlik - Gül Gülyağı ve Yağlı Tohumlar Tarım Satış Kooperatifleri Birliği” is the main
producer of rose oil. Gülbirlik was established in 1954 as the union of nine founder
cooperatives. It currently, comprises six separate cooperatives, with 8.000 producer
partners, four rose oil plants at four different locations and two rose oil solid plants. It
processes 320 tons of rose flowers per day during the season and produces rose oil and
rose oil solid in conformity with world standards and it is the largest manufacturer and
exporter in this field both in Turkey and in the world. Gülbirlik recently started to manufacture
various valve added rose oil products such as rose oil based cosmetics and rose oil
flavoured sweet.

There is another cooperative in Afyon, namely “Başmakçı Gül Kooperatifi” which has 3,000
members. The cooperative produces ecologically certified rose oil. There are also 8 medium
and small size private companies in the sector. Two of them are French originated firms and
make production mostly for their parent companies. Besides, there are various family owned
workshop scale places of production in the villages of Isparta and in the other provinces.

Roses are gathered during the 40-day flowering season which is in May and June. The
humidity and cloudiness during the season have an effect on the yield and quality of rose
oil.

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Turkish Rose Damascena products can be grouped in four categories:

Rose Oil

Rose oil, which is one of the most important and costly raw materials of the perfume and
cosmetics industry, is produced by boiling pink roses using the vapor distillation method.

Rose oil of world standard quality is obtained from roses grown in Isparta and its outlying
regions located at an altitude of 1.050 m above sea level and higher. The production season
for rose oil commences in May and ends in June when the roses are picked and taken into
immediate processing.

Rose Concrete

Rose concrete is a deep purple, creamy substance obtained from unfermented fresh pink
roses using the extraction method. It is used to produce rose absolute, which is one of the
raw materials used in the perfumery and cosmetics industries.

Rose Water

Rose water is a by-product obtained during the distillation of rose flowers. It is natural rose
smelling water which is obtained by mixing pure, clean hot water with oil water in the ratio
of one to one during the production of rose oil. Then it is filtered several times and bottled.
It is used as an aroma for some foods and sweets, and also to clean make-up and the body
since it is natural and pure.

Rose Absolute

Rose absolute is obtained via the extraction of rose concrete with alcohol. The alcoholic
solution is distilled under a vacuum to remove the alcohol.

Turkey produces many other essential oils

In addition to rose oil, which is a traditional product, other essential oils are also produced
in large quantities in Turkey. The most popular ones are laurel leaf oil, origanum oil, lavender
oil and mint oil. The other essential oils produced are myrtle oil, fennel oil, anise oil, cumin
seed oil, sage oil, juniper oil, rosemary oil, melissa oil, pennyroyal oil, styrax oil and vitex oil.

Two species are important commercial sources of styrax. Styrax oil is extracted in Turkey
from Liquidambar orientalis which is a tree of 15-20 meters tall. This species is native to
eastern Mediterranean Europe and the Near East, and is the source of styrax oil known as
Asian styrax. The only country in the world for this type of styrax oil is Turkey. Production is
made in limited amounts by using traditional methods in workshop scale places. The
production takes place particularly in the Mediterranean and the Aegean Regions. The other
species is L. styraciflua, a tree native to the south-eastern United States, Mexico and Central
America. It is the source of essential oil called American styrax.

“Laurel leaf oil”, which is famous worldwide, is produced in large quantities in Mersin,
Antakya and its surrounding regions.

Parallel to the increases in both domestic and world demand, the amount of essential oils
produced is increasing every year.

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EXPORTS OF ESSENTIAL OILS

Turkish essential oil exports are showing an increasing trend depending on world prices and
cultivation. The exports of essential oils, their by-products and resinous reached US$ 49
million in 2017. The major part of Turkish essential oil exports consisted of rose oil. Rose oil
has been a traditional export item, followed by stearopten oil and thyme oil.

Essential oils were mainly exported to the European countries. Major destinations for
essential oils were France, UK, Germany, USA and Switzerland. These countries accounted
for 83 % of total Turkish essential oils exports in 2017.

The Turkish rose oil industry is highly competitive worldwide. Foreign trade of Turkish rose
oil has very old and traditional roots. The exports started very long time ago. It is known
that the majority of rose oil exports between 1920 and 1921 were destined for France and
the USA.

The value of rose oil exports reached US$ 15,6 million in 2016, and US$ 18,5 million in
2017. The majority of exports were directed to France, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Spain,
Bahrain, USA and China.

Table 1: Turkish Rose Oil Exports

by Years (US$ 1,000)
Years Value
2004 7.393
2005 7.174
2006 7.594
2007 9.383
2008 11.210
2009 8.492
2010 9.157
2011 10.301
2012 12.613
2013 10.748
2014 13.961
2015 10.793
2016 15.635
2017 18.534
Source: Turkish Statistical Institute

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Table 2: Turkish Essential Oils Exports, (Value: US$)
Change
HS Value (1.000 $)
(%)
Share (%)
Products Name
No. 2015 2016 2017 (2016-17) 2017

330112 Essential oils of orange 247,90 504,02 298,50 -40,78 0,61

330113 Essential oils of lemon 52,14 14,07 74,19 427,30 0,15

330119 Essential oils of citrus fruits, nes 10,45 33,36 39,93 19,70 0,08

330124 Essential oils of peppermint 2,76 37,98 18,91 -50,21 0,04

330125 Essential oils of other mints 7,22 121,50 17,77 -85,38 0,04

330129 Essential oils, nes 29.744,22 37.261,39 44.325,95 18,96 90,31

330130 Resinoids 15,80 9,02 38,51 326,77 0,08

Conc&aqueous distls of essentl

330190 oils;terpenic by-prods of essentl 3.505,20 3.374,72 4.269,98 26,53 8,70
oils

Total 33.586 41.356 49.084 18,69 100

Source: Turkish Statistical Institute

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Table 3: Turkish Essential Oils Exports by Countries (Value: US$)
Change Share
Value (1.000 $)
Countries (%) (%)
2015 2016 2017 (2016-17) 2017

1 France 20.471 25.409 28.259 11,22 57,57

2 UK 2.015 4.560 5.348 17,28 10,90

3 Germany 2.385 3.665 3.651 -0,40 7,44

4 USA 1.300 1.261 2.308 83,06 4,70

5 Switzerland 1.393 917 1.331 45,17 2,71

6 Spain 1.277 545 937 72,05 1,91

7 Canada 720 616 895 45,32 1,82

8 Korea 116 338 871 157,75 1,78

9 Saudi Arabia 680 93 689 641,40 1,40

10 Hong Kong 44 216 594 174,93 1,21

11 Austria 203 127 455 259,06 0,93

12 Bulgaria 168 258 420 63,00 0,86

13 Bahrain 219 498 344 -30,93 0,70

14 China 441 167 299 79,12 0,61

15 India 120 354 271 -23,61 0,55

List Total 31.550 39.022 46.671 19,60 95,09

Turkey’s Total Export 33.586 41.356 49.084 18,69 100,00

Source: Turkish Statistical Institute

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TRADE FAIRS

 Fairs in Turkey

USEFUL LINKS

 West Mediterranean Exporters Association

www.baib.org.tr
 Istanbul Chemicals and Chemical Products Exporters Association (IKMIB)
http://www.ikmib.org.tr/tr/default.html
 Mediterranean Chemical Products And Derivatives Exporters’ Association
(AKMİB) http://www.akib.org.tr/

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© Republic of Turkey – Ministry of Trade, 2019 8