Spices Board of India has applied for Geographical Indication (GI) status for Cochin ginger. If successful, GI status will help to confer on Cochin ginger a "premium products" rating which should protect its worldwide reputation. GI status is already enjoyed by many products including Champagne, Prosciutto di Parma and Melton Mowbray pork pies. The Spices Board is part of the Indian government's Ministry of Commerce & Industry and exists to provide a link between Indian exporters and foreign importers.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has given Nepal $30m in aid to improve, amongst other things, ginger exports. The money will be targeted at increasing competitiveness and exports in selected product areas and will be allocated by NEAT, the Nepal Economic, Agriculture and Trade project. The project will run for two and a half years. Currently Nepal exports the majority of its ginger to neighbouring India.
The decision by Indian farmers to increase production of ginger has paid off after reports last week showed that for the first ten months of the current financial year exports were 126% higher in volume terms and 76% higher in value terms. With China concentrating on selling ginger to Europe, India has been able to fill the void left in West Asia at prices up to 30% lower than late 2010.
Last week I wrote that ginger farmers from Dreketi in Fiji were struggling to find a market for their produce. Within hours of publishing the post, The Fiji Times reported that the Fijian Ministry of Agriculture had held meetings with the farmers during the previous week to offer assistance in marketing and finding local markets.
Frespac Ginger Fiji Ltd, owned by Australia's Buderim Ginger, has announced that it is targetting the USA as a new export market. It currently exports 80% of its produce to Europe and 20% to New Zealand. Presumably Fijian ginger production will have to increase to meet the expected demand. This will be welcome news for the 300 farmers who are contracted to provide ginger to Frespac.
And finally, Scotland's Hibernian Football Club has announced a three-year sponsorship deal with Crabbie’s, the ginger beer company. This follows Crabbie's involvement in projects ranging from the British Comedy Awards to the Perth Festival national hunt horse racing event. The Hibs first and reserve teams will display the alcoholic ginger beer name and logo. The ladies and youth teams and general public sales will display the name and logo for the non-alcoholic version. Crabbie and Hibernian are both from Leith, near Edinburgh.
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