Garlic (Allium sativum) is a spice crop belonging to the family Alliaceae along with onion (A. cepa. L), leek (A. ameloprisum L.), chives (A. schoenoprasum L), and shallot (A. asaclincum). It is the second most widely used amongst cultivated Alliums after onions (Allium cepa). The crop consists of an underground bulb and vegetative shoot which consist of leaves and flower. They are forty (40) cm tall when fully grown.
The leaves of garlic are flat and very slender, in contrast to other alliums whose leaves are cylindrical and hollow. The garlic plant, both the green tops and the bulbs are used as spice, flavoring and seasoning vegetables and meat dishes. Its pungent smell could be very unpleasant when perceived fresh but when added to meals gives the meal a delightful fragrance. Today garlic is a widely recognized health enhancing supplement.
Garlic is an onion-like plant with strong flavour and aroma that is used in cooking to add flavour. It is a wonderful food as it contains a wide range of necessary nutrients and has numerous health advantages. Garlic has a strong, spicy and pungent flavour. It grows as a bulb with cloves that are each wrapped in a paery skin. Garlic has a strong flavour when raw, so it's usually cooked or roasted to soften and balance it out.
Garlic, in addition to adding flavour to a variety of meals, even has medicical properties, therefore it is used to treat a variety of ailments. Garlic market leaders have attempted to make it easier to use garlic in cooking by offering it in a variety of formats including powder, oil and paste.
Garlic oil is the volatile oil derived from garlic. It is usually prepared using steam distillation and can also be produced via distillation using ether. It is used in cooking and as a seasoning, a nutritional supplement, and also as an insecticide.
The worldwide garlic extract market was valued at about USD 11.86 billion in 2017 and is predicted to reach around USD 15.30 billion by 2024, rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly three point seven percent (3.7%) between 2018 and 2024.
The growth of the garlic oil market accross the globe remains stable during the forecast period owing to high prices of the garlic oil and low production of garlic in the recent years. It has been estiamted that five hundred (500) tons of garlic is used to make one (1) ton of garlic oil which makes the prices of garlic oil expensive.
Key Market Segments by Type
Garlic Cooking Oil
Garlic Health Drugs
Garlic Essential Oil
Key Market Segment by Application
Cooking
Health Care
Spa & Relaxation
Fresh garlic is cultivated in large quantities by many farmers in Nigeria especially in the Northern stated like Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa, Bauchi, Katsina and Zamfara States.
Garlic has digestive, carminative and anti-rheumatic properties. It is used in aurvedic formulation since ancient times for curing muscular pain, giddiness, lungs, heating intestinal ulcer, etc.
Nigeria has comparative in the cultivation of garlic hence setting up a garlic oil processing plant would enable investors to take full advantage of value chain of the product, create emploment opportunties and earn scare foreign exchange.
