Ginger Cider, April Fool, New Launches & Reducing Waste

Next month Alnwick, in north Northumberland, will play host to a cider and chilli festival, according to the Northumberland Gazette. One of the features of this event, organised by both the Alnwick Food Festival and the Alnwick Beer Festival, will be the unveiling of a collaborative effort from Thistly Cross and Belhaven Fruit Farm called Ginger and Chilli Cider. Both Thistly Cross and Belhaven Fruit Farm use locally grown produce where possible. Both businesses are based in Dunbar which is officially the sunniest place in Scotland (but not warm enough for growing ginger). I didn't realise until now that Thistly Cross already produces an alcoholic ginger infused cider. If you can get to the festival on May the 4th and 5th let me know what you think of this intriguing new drink.

If you are a student of British political history you may already know this. It is 1855 and Lord Palmerston, at the age of 70, has become British Prime Minister for the first time. Following the formation of his government, Benjamin Disraeli, a political foe, wrote to a friend that 'Palmerston is really an impostor, utterly exhausted, and at the best only ginger-beer, and not champagne, and now an old painted Pantaloon, very deaf, very blind, and with false teeth, which would fall out of his mouth when speaking, if he did not hesitate so in his talk'. They really did have a way with words back then.

Last Friday the 2012 budget was presented to the Guyanese parliament. It wasn't something I was waiting for in particular but my attention was drawn to a comment made by the finance minister, Dr Ashni Singh, regarding last year's successful introduction of a spice project. This project was introduced to promote diversity in hinterland communities by growing crops like ginger and turmeric. A Guyana Office for Investment aim is to become the breadbasket of the Caribbean whilst at the same time increasing exports to North America and Europe. The latest available UN Comtrade figures show that in 2010 Guyana was a net exporter of ginger with the Caribbean being the principal destination.

Today, as we all know, is April Fool's Day and it can be quite interesting and, at times, frustrating trying to find the obligatory spoof or silly story in the newspapers. Having found the story in my newspaper today I had a look at past stories and found a particularly relevant one in the Daily Express from 2006. "Scientists yesterday revealed that broken biscuits are in fact the perfect material to help resurface roads,” the Express informed us. “Years of experimental research revealed that crushed-up ginger nuts are the best biscuit for a road’s sub-base, as they are more porous and allow water to drain away.” The story was accompanied by a picture showing serried rows of gingernut biscuits being steamrollered into the tarmac. I love these stories.

The Jamaica Information Service reported on a scheme which is proving to be financially beneficial to many farmers. The Jamaica Exotic Flavours and Essences Company, in conjunction with the Jamaican government, will buy any produce which has been rejected by customers for being too small or unattractive and convert it into purees, flavours, essences and juices for the food and beverage industry. This scheme applies to a wide range of crops including ginger. It's difficult to imagine ginger being rejected for being unattractive. This is a scheme which can and should be adopted by many other countries.

Back in February I posted that Kumbalangi in the Indian state of Kerala would be the first flat coastal location to grow ginger, a crop normally associated with hill farming. IBNLive has now reported that the project officially started yesterday.

A new report on the spices and seasonings market states that the Asia-Pacific spice market will grow by 5.6% over the next five years, according to FnBnews.com. If you couple this with the increasing world demand for spices, driven by a growing awareness of the health benefits and a fascination for ethnic cuisine, then the outlook for farmers in countries such as India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka appears to be very positive indeed.

The Financial Express informs us that the eastern Indian state of Orissa has decided to identify horticultural crop clusters and then use these areas to develop a streamlined marketing infrastructure. Ginger clusters can now be found in the Phulbani and Koraput districts. The state is said to have perfect rainfall conditions for growing ginger, so good that it has now become self-sufficient in the crop.

Fentimans has launched a cool & less fiery version of its traditional ginger beer. The new drink is called, unsurprisingly, Cool Ginger Beer and will be available in the familiar 275ml bottles. It has been botanically brewed in the usual way with Chinese ginger.

Startup company Berry White launched a range of white tea-based organic drinks including a lemon, ginger & acai berry flavour. I like to think that if you are going to launch a new range then ginger is a must. The drinks were released to the trade at last week's Food & Drink Expo 2012 in Birmingham.

off licence news reported another launch last week when Stone’s Ginger Wine released a limited edition "Fabulously British" pack for this summer. This Accolade Wines product aims to highlight the brand's British heritage. Its lifespan will also cover the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the London Olympics.

Finally, a request from the Lancashire Evening Post. A Preston man is on a quest to find a part of his family history - a John Herbert ginger beer bottle. I know it is unlikely but can you help?

Canadian Demand, Help For Nepal, Guyanese Ginger & Price Extremes

What do you do when you can't get the price you need for your newly harvested ginger? If you live in the village of Wooling in Bhutan, you put it back in the ground again. According to Kuensel Online, farmers have found that the current wholesale price is less than half that of a year ago and is now lower than the cost of the initial 'seed' stock. So, rather than accept a loss, the farmers are storing their crops in large pits in the ground and waiting until the price rises to an acceptable level. Bhutan is totally dependent upon India for its ginger exports although insignificant quantities have been exported occasionally to Bangladesh and Thailand. The last available figures show that India imported 1108 tonnes of Bhutanese ginger in 2010. The International Trade Centre has identified ginger as an export sector with high potential.

Demand for ginger and garlic in Quebec and Ontario increased by 200% last year according to one of Canada's leading garlic importers. The Packer reported that the Montreal-based company CDS imports its ginger and garlic from Ecuador to satisfy the health-conscious and those with a taste for ethnic dishes.

eKantipur.com reported that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has taken the next step in its promotion of ginger from Nepal. The WTO selected Nepal as part of the Trading Stories Project which is designed to help the least developed countries. A WTO team has arrived in the country to film ginger production. The article also mentioned that the Nepalese government will implement a ginger programme over the next two-three years. About 2,000 small ginger farmers will be provided with improved 'seed' stock and a new processing plant.

New Chapter, a major US-based provider of organic and natural food supplements, has been acquired by the multi-national Procter & Gamble. This will enable New Chapter's many ginger products to be brought to the attention of a wider audience.

The Australian ginger harvest is imminent. Watch this space. In the meantime, here is a YouTube video of a ginger harvest.

Let me introduce a new addition to our ever-expanding list of ginger growing countries - Guyana. Although not a major producer, Guyana does grow enough to export principally to Barbados but also to Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and the Dutch Antilles (all small-scale producers themselves). Ginger is grown in the Barima-Waini region (also known as Region One) in the north west of the country. This is an area which is subject to a long-running territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela.

They say that Guyanese ginger beer is a popular drink. This is quite understandable as we all know that ginger beer is a popular drink anywhere, and rightly so.

Promasidor Nigeria Ltd, part of the Africa-wide Promasidor group, has announced that it will launch a ginger-flavoured tea towards the end of March. According to MarketWorld, this tea will be one of two new flavours "being introduced to offer consumers different choices and also add fun, excitement and refreshment to tea consumption".

We've mentioned before that Naitasiri province is a major ginger growing area in Fiji. Prospective ginger farmers last week received encouraging news on fijilive when it reported a statement from Fiji's prime minister that Naitasiri ginger farmers are expected to earn $7 million by next year. To put this into perspective, last year ginger farmers earned $3.5 million.

The Taiwanese government has taken the unusual step of introducing measures to increase the price of domestically grown ginger to protect farmers, according to Focus Taiwan. Following last year's good prices farmers have increased production this year. Now there is a glut of ginger which has led, naturally, to a drop in the price. The government will now activate a procurement mechanism aimed, presumably, at ensuring a minimum price. It will also assist in marketing the crop in both domestic and foreign markets.