If there is anyone reading this who has some spare ginger to export, this will be of particular interest to you. I've been reading an International Trade Centre publication entitled "Tropical Fruits And Vegetables In China - Market Overview". Ginger features quite prominently in this report which is not surprising as China produces quite a lot of it. Unfortunately for Chinese exporters they also eat quite a lot it. They eat so much of it, in fact, that the Chinese domestic market is growing at 10% a year which, using official 2009 figures, translates into an extra 650,000 tons. Using these same figures, from a domestic harvest of 6,500,000 tons, 340,000 tons went for export, presumably to the West and commanding a high price. For the same period imports were 782,000 tons (a tenfold increase on the previous year) with most being imported in November and December. You can see that the Chinese are finding it difficult to produce enough to keep pace with demand. So here is your opportunity. Go for it and make a Chinese consumer happy.
I've just realised that although the Chinese consume ginger at a far higher rate than the global average, we at All Things Ginger can't be far behind.
The same report also mentions that a lot of ginger imported into China comes from Thailand. And much of this ginger is in salted form. A typical production cycle is as follows: 1) Japanese customers will select their preferred salted ginger supplier in Thailand; 2) The salted ginger is exported from Thailand to China (probably Shandong Province); 3) The salted ginger is converted into pickled ginger; and 4) The pickled ginger is exported from China to Japan.
The Sri Lankan Daily Mirror reported an interesting story about a new scheme which the Sri Lankan government are launching. The Prisons and Rehabilitation Ministry, in conjunction with the Minor Export Crop Ministry, will be improving the agricultural skills of prisoners by encouraging them to cultivate prison land. And as this is Sri Lanka, ginger will be one of the crops.
The Deccan Herald reported that farmers in the Indian state of Karnataka have wasted hundreds of thousands of rupees treating their ginger seed without taking expert advice. The claim was made by District General Secretary Gurushanthappa of Raitha Sangha, a powerful farmers movement. He said that farmers had been convinced by local agrochemical companies of the need to treat their seed without the advice and support of the state agriculture and horticulture departments who he accused of neglecting ginger. It is not difficult to see how farmers in many parts of the world could be persuaded to use chemicals as their whole livelihood depends on the outcome of the next harvest.
Halewood International, famous for its Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer, is set to launch a stronger 6% abv version later this month. Crabbie's Black will be available from the 26th August and targeted at an older male audience. Apparently, real ales with a higher alcohol content than the usual 3%-4.5% are experiencing significant growth in the UK markets. It is this trend which has encouraged Halewood to launch its own offering.
A participant on the All Things Ginger forum is asking for information about Old English Ginger Wine from Rock & Rye Sales in Scarborough, Ontario. It seems that this company no longer exists as it is proving very difficult to find anything on Google. I had a look and, sure enough, it is difficult to find any information. But I did find Rock & Rye Beverages from Toronto, Ontario. This didn't mean much to me until I discovered that Scarborough is now a suburb of Toronto. Is it the same company? I'm intrigued now. Any help would be appreciated.
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