During the visits, fields and crops are inspected, samples are collected, the growth of the plants is assessed, and quality assurance audits are conducted. Recently, Phillip Behrens traveled to India to check on the 2017 crop of the Mentha Arvensis, M. Piperita and M. Spicata mint species, and to give a first-hand report on what harvest yields can be expected. Welcome news: For Mentha Arvensis, we expect a harvest yield in the Uttar Pradesh province similar to the one in 2016, i.e. 30,000-32,000 MT of crude mint oil. Although synthetic menthol has become an increasingly important commodity in recent years, it cannot cover the growing demand alone, so that the position of natural menthol on the world market is stable. In the case of Mentha Piperita, all expectations point to a significant decline in production volume: The improvement of Piperita plants is stagnating, and at the same time, other plants are more attractive to farmers. While there were still 500 MT in 2016, the yield will fall well below the 400 MT mark this year. In the Uttar Pradesh and Punjab provinces, we estimate 175 to max. 200 MT. This is currently leading to extreme price increases, and we do not expect the situation to ease before the 2018 harvest! For the new crop year, the hope is that the current price hike will serve as an incentive to plant and cultivate a higher volume next year. Unfortunately, the expected yield for Mentha Spicata is almost nonexistent: The cultivation trend in India is continuing to decline for this mint species. In addition, new Goods & Services Tax (GST) laws in India are impeding payment transactions within the supply chain for mint products, which is also triggering price increases for them. Reimbursement of the GST will be considerably delayed, and the manufacturers will thus calculate higher sales prices for exports as well. Even though Mr. Behrens brought back some figures that were not completely pleasing, at FREY&LAU, close contact with the producers is the foundation for a good and long-lasting cooperation. This approach lets us ensure that the raw ingredients meet our high quality standards.