Food From Japan, Man Shing Expansion, Vietnamese Production And Extra Ginger Beer Capacity

I was rather surprised last week to learn from thegrocer.co.uk that UK fans of Japanese food do not need to worry about irradiated imported produce. The reason? Apparently, between 80% and 90% of Japanese food imported by the largest Japanese food and drink distributor in Europe does not actually come from Japan. Many products come from China and America and some fish make the short trip from Norway.

There appears to be no end to the expansion plans of Man Shing, one of the largest Chinese exporters of fresh ginger to Japan, the UK, the Netherlands and North America. Just months after leasing a ginger farm in Japan, the company has now leased an additional 2.4 million square metres (or 593 acres) in its own backyard of Shandong Province in east China. Founded in 1998, Man Shing plans to increase its share of the total Chinese ginger exports to 31% by the end of 2011. A very impressive growth rate if it is achieved.

Little is known of the ginger industry in Vietnam but we can gain a partial insight from a project undertaken by the country's Academy of Science and Technology. Traditionally, ginger and other herbs and spices have been dried under the sun. But if the weather conditions have been less than perfect the resulting dried ginger has been of a lower quality. So the Academy has developed a production line where, initially, ginger and crocus can be peeled, washed, sliced and dried regardless of the weather outside. The Vietnamese government should look at the export potential of this equipment.

The local government of Kudus in central Java in Indonesia is promoting the planting of medicinal herbs such as ginger. The scheme will cover an area of 160 hectares and each hectare will yield 160 quintals of produce. A quintal, incidentally, is 100 kilograms. The government's initiative could have something to do with improving the health of the population. Alternatively, it could have something to do with the fact that the price of ginger increased by between 300 and 400 percent last year.

Browsing The Engineer the other day whilst waiting for the toast to pop up I read that John Crabbie & Co had recently increased its ginger beer production capacity. The company added nine new storage tanks each with a capacity of 54,000 litres. I can't picture 54,000 litres but it sounds huge.