The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), in partnership with the Southern African Essential Oil Producers’ Association, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) and the UN Industrial Development Organisation (Unido), will host the Essential Oils Conference at Rosemary Hill, Pretoria East, on July 23 and 24. The conference comes at a time of growing global demand for natural ingredients, sustainable cosmetics and plant-based wellness products, providing a platform for industry stakeholders to explore opportunities to strengthen South Africa’s competitiveness in the rapidly expanding essential oils market, the dtic points out.