Essential Oil Made from Lavender Flowers Sells for TRY 20,000

Distillation of 80 kilograms of lavender flowers at the facility established at the Medical and Aromatic Plants Center in Afyonkarahisar yields 2 kilograms of

essential oil valued at TRY 20,000.

At the Medical and Aromatic Plants Center operating under the General Directorate of Forests in Afyonkarahisar, where the added value of many plants is measured and work is conducted to increase plant value, the essential oil content of many aromatic plants is both measured and value-added oils are obtained. Providing information on the processing of lavender, which is used in many areas of the cosmetics sector and whose production has become widespread throughout Afyonkarahisar, Director of the Afyonkarahisar Medical and Aromatic Plants Center Emel Yıldız said, "We are conducting studies related to the oil yield of lavender. We brought an experimental oil extraction unit to our facility. In our work here, we obtain findings regarding the oil efficiency of lavender produced in our region. In this way, we demonstrate the extractability of the essential oil, which we call the essence or spirit of the plant. Particularly, we determine what percentage yield we can obtain. We have data on whether it is economically viable." Drawing attention to the value of 2 kilograms of lavender at TRY 20,000, Yıldız stated, "From approximately 80 kilograms of dried lavender flowers, we obtained 2 liters of essential oil. This means the following: our product yields oil at a level close to 3 percent. This is at an acceptable level. Because the essential oil is extracted from the valuable part of the plant. Here, 2 liters of oil have a value of around TRY 20,000. In other words, from 80 kilograms of lavender flowers, which at TRY 10 per kilogram equals TRY 800 of lavender flowers, we obtain TRY 20,000 worth of essential oil through the distillation method."   Source: Milliyet