Ginger Volunteers, Baby Ginger, New Drinks, Agroforestry & Meat Proteins

We'll start this week by visiting Taiwan and a pleasing story in Focus Taiwan. This season has seen a glut of ginger on the east coast of the country which has resulted in a drop in price. Farmers, although skilled in producing the ginger, have been struggling in their attempts to sell the harvest. But help has appeared in the form of Star Liu, a university student, and his friend, Terry Kuo. They have been buying ginger from farmers in their home area and selling it for a considerably higher price in the capital, Taipei. They have also engaged in adding value by selling hot ginger tea on the streets of Taipei on cold winter days. This philanthropic act has been so well received that people from Japan and Singapore have also volunteered to help.

The Rodale Institute, a leading US organic agriculture research centre, recommends that farmers produce baby ginger as an unusual way of attracting customers. Baby, or immature, ginger is proving popular in the US for its aroma and mild flavour. Although it is normally grown in the ideal surroundings of Hawaii, it is also being grown as a niche crop undercover by farmers in seemingly unsuitable locations such as Virginia and Pennsylvania. What makes it attractive to US growers is its relatively short shelf life. Baby ginger, harvested after four to six months instead of the usual eight to nine months, can only be stored at room temperature for two to three weeks which rules out shipments (and therefore competition) from overseas.

The American Farm Bureau Federation website, The Voice of Agriculture, contains a fascinating video about farmers in Virginia growing ginger in high tunnels. You may find that the video takes a little while to load but it's worth the wait.

The Fiji Times featured a local farmer who started growing ginger in the early days, gave it up in favour of different crops and has now returned to ginger once again. The story is interesting in itself but when I read that he had been nominated as chairman of the Ginger Council I immediately thought, "what is the Ginger Council?". Well, it was created by an Act of Parliament, the Ginger Council Of Fiji Act, 1996 (this is an RTF file which will require something like Word of Word Viewer). I am not sure but I assume that this body replaced the Ginger Growers Council of Fiji which was established in 1993. Anyway, the principal functions of the Ginger Council are to self-regulate the industry, to produce ginger as cost-effectively as possible and to identify potential export markets.

The Kathmandu Post reported that a Nepalese national level trade association called the Nepal Ginger Producers and Traders Association has been formed with the support of the United States Agency for International Development to promote the interests of ginger farmers. It is envisaged that this new association will also seek to satisfy domestic demand and create new export markets. Currently, India is the destination for around 99 percent of ginger exports. Nepal produces 210,000 tonnes of ginger a year of which 140,000 tonnes are exported. The district of Ilam (the country is divided into 75 districts) is responsible for 65 percent of total production.

It has been a busy week of announcements in the UK for ginger drinks. Blavod Wines and Spirits is launching Red Leg, a premium Caribbean rum spiced with ginger and vanilla. Swedish cider maker Rekorderlig is to launch an orange and ginger cider. And finally, Stone’s Ginger Joe alcoholic ginger beer has secured listings with the Yates’s pub chain and Carlsberg UK, a leading on-trade wholesaler.

Away from the UK, Carlsberg Denmark has launched Somersby Ginger Lemon alcoholic cider (4.5% abv) but only, I believe, for the Danish market initially. In the US, Bruce Cost Ginger Ale now includes passion fruit in its range of unfiltered ginger ales. This new drink also includes a touch of turmeric.

Brewbound, an excellent US site for beer news, reported on the nationwide rollout of three cider varietals from the Angry Orchard Cider Company. One of these drinks is Apple Ginger (5.0% abv) which is a blend of Italian and French apples with fresh Nigerian ginger. Sounds nice.

I am being followed on Twitter by a couple of diabetes organisations - Diabetes UK and The Diabetes Care. I've noticed the occasional reference to ginger and diabetes but I've never really checked to see whether ginger may be beneficial to sufferers or not. So I had a browse and found this interesting Kuwaiti research paper called 'Anti-diabetic and hypolipidaemic properties of ginger (Zingiber officinale) in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats' from 2006. I won't spoil the read for you (assuming that you find a link for this paper as the Cambridge URL which I'm using keeps changing) but I will say that the outcome is promising. The report concludes by stating that "ginger may be of great value in managing the effects of diabetic complications in human subjects".

In the past, farmers in the Padma floodplain of Bangladesh practised a traditional system of agriculture. This gradually became unsustainable following the rapid increase in population growth. So in the 1990s, scientists recommended that the farmers adopt the mango-based agroforestry system. This system works by planting a few mango trees in and around the selected food crop. This food crop could be ginger or turmeric or one of many other essential commodities. The Center for International Forestry Research blog has just reported the findings of a research paper in the Small-scale Forestry journal on the effectiveness of mango-based agroforestry systems. The research found that a mango-based cropping system coupled with, for example, ginger is more productive than growing ginger on its own. The farmers now have two crops to harvest which means two crops to sell. This increases income and provides income security. The extra money can then be spent on education, housing, sanitation and health needs. Although mango trees can fruit for decades, after a certain stage the fruit yield drops. The trees can then be felled and the wood used for fuel or making furniture.

I also came across what the Indians believe is an under-exploited crop called mango ginger. Surprisingly, it is not related to either mango or ginger but to turmeric. It is popular in Indian pickles.

The Philippine Information Agency reported an interview with the mayor of Pinabacdao, a municipality in the province of Samar, Philippines. He stated that ginger farmers in the hills of Pinabacdao may just be able to rise out of poverty following increased domestic interest in ginger's health benefits and a deal with a Japanese bilk buyer. The mayor will back up his claim by investing public money in farming equipment to ensure that his municipality produces the best ginger in the region.

Just out of interest I checked Wikipedia to find out what a municipality is and discovered that it is a local government unit equivalent to a town. These municipalities are divided into classes based on average annual income during the last three calendar years. The classes range from 1st at the top to 6th at the bottom. Pinabacdao is ranked as 3rd class.

A number of websites, including news.com.au, have reported recently on the latest developments in the Red Meat Combifoods research programme in New Zealand. The purpose of this programme is to find ways that meat proteins can be isolated and then used in other foods. One such resulting food is thyme and ginger-flavoured ice cream. Make up your own mind.

BBC News told us about the food enjoyed by Captain Scott and his team during the expedition to the South Pole a century ago. On special occasions they had crystallised ginger.

Aggie Research reports on a forthcoming paper from North Carolina Central University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The paper, to be presented this coming week, will show that "ginger extract and its purified component increase red blood cell production (erythropoiesis) in transgenic zebrafish recovering from anaemia, as well as in normal non-anaemic zebrafish". The scientists also discovered that "ginger and its purified component stimulate a signaling pathway that encourages blood stem-cell formation".

Busy Week For UK Ginger Beer, Flooding, Increased Exports & Boozy Award

It has been a busy week for British alcoholic ginger beers. It started with Ginger Joe making its TV debut (see below) with a spoof moustache advert. This was followed by the launch of this year's Crabbie's Christmas TV advertising campaign featuring the popular retro duo George and Camilla. I cannot find a YouTube video for Crabbie's so in the interest of fair play I will offer a link to the Crabbie's TV advert page. And later in the week it was announced that Scottish brewer Williams Brothers has started exporting its alcoholic ginger beer to Australia.



I've mentioned before about how the weather can have a devasting effect on farming businesses. Fresh Plaza reported last week on the plight of farmers in Thailand after 740,000 acres of farmland succumbed to flooding. The forthcoming harvest of ginger will be unaffected as the growing region escaped the floods. Not so lucky are ginger farmers in Taitung County in eastern Taiwan who have suffered extensive damage following 400mm (15.75 inches) of rain in two days. Farmers here are hoping that the central government will activate its compensation scheme.

Continuing last week's story about the spate of suicides in the ginger farming community in the Indian state of Kerala, reports are emerging which seem to indicate that it was the fall in the price of ginger which was the primary contributing factor. By early last week the number of suicides had, sadly, increased to seven. Before the current growing season started, ginger fetched Rs 2,500 per 60kg bag. Then Nepalese ginger reached the Indian market causing the domestic price to plummet to Rs 500, an 80pc fall. Unfortunately, the farmers had to borrow their start-up funds from money lenders and micro-finance institutions as the banks would not advance them loans. With an input cost per acre of Rs 250,000, a harvest yielding less than Rs 150,000 per acre and an interest rate on the loans as high as 24pc, it is not difficult to see why ginger farmers are facing considerable hardship.

These figures seem awfully high when you consider that the total value of Indian ginger exported to Pakistan in the last financial year was Rs320 million.

The Spices Board of India has released its export figures for the April-September half year and it shows that India exported 8,000 tonnes of ginger, a rise of 44pc compared to the same period last year. The value of these exports increased by 151pc to Rs 90.02 crores (Rs 900.2 million).

Congratulations to Boozy Infusions for winning Best Drink at this year’s deliciouslyorkshire food and drink awards for its Jamaica Ginger Cake Infusion liqueur. I'm intrigued to find out more about this unusual drink which has been described as having a 'knockout aroma'.

Well, I managed to buy a couple of packets of the limited edition Dorset Cereals gingerbread porridge after visiting the only stockist in my area three times in four days. I haven't tried it yet so it had better be good.

Worried Ginger Farmers, Fijian Investment, Ginger Coffee Launch And Big Hairy Moustache

ABC Wide Bay, the Australian TV and radio station which covers part of Queensland's ginger growing region, had an interesting report on the problems facing farmers as they embark on a new ginger season. Since last year ginger crops in both the Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast areas suffered badly from the fungal rot pythium. Both areas typically produce 80pc of Australia's ginger annual output but last year some growers lost up to 70pc of their crops. These farmers have now planted this year's ginger 'seed' with trepidation and those farmers not affected last year are understandably concerned. I wish the farmers well for the coming months and I'll let you know of their progress.

Still on the subject of Australian ginger, here is an interview from ABC Brisbane with Ron O’Grady, CEO of Buderim Ginger.

I've reported occasionally in the past about the progress being made by the Fijian ginger industry to establish itself on the world stage. The Fiji Times has now told us of a $1 million three-year investment programme launched by the Fijian government to revitalise the ginger industry. It is hoped that the investment will improve the country's export earnings from the current $6.3 million to $9 million a year. Basically, the plan is to develop ginger 'seed' with increased vigour which can be grown throughout the country rather than selected areas as at present. Fiji currently produces more than 2000 tonnes of ginger a year of which nearly 50pc is exported, principally to Australia and Hawaii.

Various African websites reported last week about Nestlé Nigeria's launch of its Nescafé Ginger & Lemon coffee. I've noticed that ginger coffee is very popular in many parts of Africa (and the Middle East as well) but, as I've said before, I don't know why it isn't marketed in Europe and beyond. Back to Nestlé Nigeria and the news that this product is being introduced into the health market because of the "beneficial health properties of ginger and lemon". It's questionable whether a statement like that would be allowed in many countries.

Last week a number of websites, including The Drum, reported the launch of a £2 million advertising campaign for Ginger Joe, the alcoholic ginger beer. Depending on which site you read, I'm not certain whether this launch is the start of the £2 million or whether it is the next stage within an existing £2 million. Whichever it is, it's a lot of money. The centrepiece of the campaign will be Ginger Joe's signature ginger moustache, a brand mark fast becoming readily associated with the product. The moustache features quite prominantly, 78 feet's worth of prominence actually, on a billboard unveiled earlier this month in Shoreditch in London. The giant hairy moustache is overlaid with the message "Thanks for donating to our big hairy poster".

By the time you read this you may well have heard about the new flavour to be added to the range of Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beers. Apparently we will only have to wait until the end of October to find out. The phenomenal onslaught of Crabbie's and the rapid emergence of Ginger Joe is shaping up to be an interesting battle. Although the producers may argue that they are aiming at different markets and demographics, I can't help but think of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and Blur and Oasis.

Great British Beer Hunt, Adulterated Ginger & Ginger Joe

The finalists for the Sainsbury's Great British Beer Hunt 2011 competition have been announced. I mention this because one of the beers on the list is a ginger beer. Frederic’s Great British Ginger Beer from the Frederic Robinson Brewery in Stockport, Cheshire, was one of the winners in the North West England & The Midlands region. It will be listed with all of the other regional winners in Sainsbury's stores for three weeks in September. Based on sales figures and reviews, two beers from each region will go through to a grand final where the overall winner will be listed in 300 stores for at least six months. Many producers would die for the chance to be listed in just a dozen stores so this is a wonderful opportunity for the re-born British craft beer industry.

I don't know anything about Frederic’s Great British Ginger Beer apart from fact that it is produced by the same company which brews Ginger Tom, a springtime seasonal dark ale infused with bruised Chinese ginger root. The company must be hoping to make a name for itself in the world of ginger as it also produces the highly regarded Frederic Robinson Ginger Ale for Marks and Spencer.

The Taiwanese Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed that a consignment of ginger powder adulterated with the plasticiser DIBP was imported from Herbsoul Natural Products Limited, China in June 2008. The DOH has now introduced two measures to control the quality of imported plant products: the first is that all kinds of extracts from plants in powder and liquid form made in China will be required to gain Taiwanese FDA approval before importation, and the second is that all products from Herbsoul must have a test certificate from the Chinese authorities which meets FDA and customs approval.

Recently we tried Ginger Joe, a new alcoholic ginger beer from the makers of Stone’s Original Green Ginger Wine (see launch announcement). We found that it had a pleasant sweet aroma and a taste reminiscent of orange marmalade and ginger, with hints of caramel. Served chilled, it was a refreshing, fizzy drink with enough of a ginger bite to quench your thirst. However, we found that it was not quite as gingery as the label suggested and, for some of our tasters, the use of artificial sweeteners in addition to sugar made it a little too sweet. It has an ABV of 4% but the sweetness did mask the taste of the alcohol. Our overall verdict is that if you like a drink a bit on the sweet side, this is certainly worth a try.