Carlyle Commodities Corp (CCCFF)

Description:

Chai-Na-Ta Corporation was incorporated on August 12, 1981, under the Canada Business Corporations Act. The Company originally was named Chai-Na-Ta Ginseng Products Limited. During 1994, its name was changed to Chai-Na-Ta Corp. The Company operates North American ginseng farms in Canada, on which ginseng root is planted, cultivated and harvested. Ginseng has been regarded as an important health product in many Asian cultures for over 2,000 years. Some of the perceived benefits of North American ginseng include: reduced stress/relaxant; regulated blood sugar; strengthened immune function; antioxidant (anti-aging); hypotensive; enhanced mental activity; and synergized activity of anti-cancer drugs. The Company sells ginseng in its main markets of Hong Kong and China, and to a lesser extent Canada and the United States of America, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Company also sells ginseng-based value-added products in Canada. Ginseng is sold in capsule, slice, tablet, tea, powder, extract, whole root form and as additives to various consumer products. The amount of active ingredients varies with each product and each brand. Extracts generally contain the highest concentration of active ingredients, followed by capsules, powders, tablets, slices, whole roots, and teas. The chemical component of ginseng is very complex and varies in different species and from the different processing methods used. Asian and North American ginseng are similar in chemical composition. They both contain ginsenosides, which are recognized as the main active ingredients in ginseng but the amount and quality of the ginsenosides varies between the two species. In addition to the more than 30 ginsenosides identified by scientists around the world, other elements such as fatty acids, amino acids, peptides, polysaccharides, vitamins and minerals have been discovered in different parts of the ginseng plant. Competitors currently producing North American ginseng consist mainly of hundreds of small growers located in southern Ontario, central British Columbia and Wisconsin and one large publicly-traded company. The Company competes through the production of high quality products, lower production costs achieved through economies of scale and an extensive marketing and distribution network serving customers in Hong Kong and the Far East.