A population list of medicinal plant processing enterprises in Nepal

In the last two decades, the number of medicinal plant processing enterprises in Nepal has expanded substantially, reflecting the increasing economic importance of the trade in medicinal plants (including fungi and lichens). Publicly available information on medicinal plant processing enterprises is, however, of low quality, e.g., the database in the Department of Industry is incomplete and even includes a high number of enterprises that do not exist. This market imperfection impedes business and research, e.g., making it difficult and costly for buyers to locate potential suppliers. This study provides a comprehensive and updated (2015) list of medicinal plant processing enterprises in Nepal. The list was generated by combining public and private databases with web searches and information derived from the extensive list of contacts maintained by the authors and the Transiting to Green Growth: Natural Resources in Nepal (TGG-N) project. A total of 325 medicinal plant processing enterprises were identified, of which we were able to directly contact 233 to confirm that they existed and were in operation. Their details (name of the company, location, and contact information) are provided, and the population list constitutes an entry point for actors interesting in developing ties with or studying the medicinal plant processing enterprises in Nepal.