Imitation Ginger Ale, Disease-Free Stock, Rural Projects, Online Shop & Long Term View

I found a Canada Dry newspaper advertisement from 1927 which claimed that many imitations were actually made with capsicum. I delved into this a little deeper and found that it was quite common for makers of cheaper ginger ales to use capsicum in place of the more expensive ginger or use it in addition to small quantities of ginger. Usually capsicum was omitted from the list of ingredients on the bottle. Nowadays 'pure' ginger ales dominate the market. I can only assume that ginger ales adulterated with capsicum are no longer made.

Fresh Plaza carried the views of Danny Deen from Denmipex, a major produce importer and exporter from the Netherlands. He said that this season's ginger harvest in China has been good in terms of both quality and quantity. But he also said that prices will be varied because of the uncontrolled nature of Chinese exports. Must be a nightmare for importers!

Islands Business, a news website which covers the Pacific islands, reported on the efforts by Fiji to return its ginger industry to its heyday of the late 1980s and early 1990s before it succumbed to disease. To revive the industry requires disease-free ginger seed. Ginger is currently grown, quite naturally, in areas which receive adequate rainfall. Unfortunately, the problems which affect ginger, root knot nematode and pythium fungal rot, thrive in wet conditions. So the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and the Fiji Department of Agriculture have employed two farmers to produce disease-free ginger seed on their farms located in relatively dry areas. It is expected that these irrigation-feed farms will produce 60 tonnes of seed for next year and 300 tonnes for the following year. These seed producing farms will also be used to train new ginger farmers.

The Hindu Business Line carried an article with the intriguing title "How many yuppies does it take to change a village?" It introduced the reader to a State Bank of India sponsored programme for young Indian professionals to leave the comfort of their air-conditioned offices and spend a year working in a small rural community on a project of their own choosing. One of the selected projects involves the development of a value-added chain for ginger in the Wayanad district. The value-added route is becoming an increasingly popular and profitable route to take.

We sampled an absolutely gorgeous ginger chocolate the other day but we will keep its identity secret until we launch our new online shop. We are actually going to start selling products which we have tried and tested and, most importantly, liked. In other words, we will only sell products which we would buy.

Last Monday I visited the Speciality & Fine Food Fair at London Olympia. The organisers described it as the 'quintessential trade event for fine food'. I went there hunting for ginger stock for our new online shop and came away extremely happy. But with so much on display it was difficult not to think of other business ideas. Each time I saw a general deli display I thought "I want to open a deli". Each time I saw a crisp producer I thought "I want to make crisps". But by the time I left the show I was convinced that my original business idea was the best.

I came across what I thought were two conflicting stories last week. First, The Hindu reported that ginger farmers in the state of Kerala, many of them growing ginger for the first time, are living in uncertain times. Current market spot prices have plummeted by as much as 75% compared to the same period last year. The low prices have been attributed to both oversupply and disease. And second, The Financial Express reported that ginger farmers in Kerala and neighbouring Karnataka were reaping the financial rewards of investing in ginger. Even allowing for the occasional blip, over the long term (ten years and more) farmers have done extremely well. So that, I think, is the reason for my initial confusion. It all depends on whether you take a short or long term view of the situation.

The Himalayan carried a similar report about how Nepalese farmers have been attracted to ginger recently. As anything could happen next year, let's hope that these farmers take a long term view.

Salted Ginger, Monsoon Season, Value-Adding, Intercropping & Virility

Last Tuesday was the start of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting when Muslims refrain from eating and drinking during daylight hours. The Times of India reported that Muslims in the union territory of Chandigarh, the joint capital of both Punjab and Haryana, will start each day with a breakfast of dates or salted ginger. I can understand someone eating ginger for breakfast but I'm puzzled by the addition of salt. Maybe it's just a difference in taste but I could never contemplate my Western palate having bacon for breakfast and not being able to drink until sunset.

Still in India, the Hindustan Times had an article on the best food to eat during the monsoon season. It recommends steamed and hot dishes as the best way to overcome the health risks caused by low sunlight levels and excessive dampness and moisture in the air (sounds a bit like the UK for most of the year). The article also recommends the inclusion of a number of herbs, including ginger, for their anti-microbial qualities.

Last week The Miami Herald reported on one of the speakers at the Jamaica USA Chamber of Commerce’s annual Movers and Shakers breakfast at Jungle Island. Christopher Tufton, Jamaica’s new minister of industry, investment and commerce, said that Jamaican farmers need to convert their crops into value-added products. As an example, he said that raw ginger needs to be processed into higher value ginger oil and ginger tea. He then went on to say that these value-added products should be marketed at the millions of visitors who come to Jamaica each year. Sounds like an excellent business idea.

An increasingly popular and profitable crop in India is rubber. Unfortunately it can take a minimum of seven years before a newly planted rubber plantation can start providing a return. To provide a valuable income during a plantation's immature years, a farmer will intercrop with turmeric and ginger. However, intercropping is only viable for three to four years before the newly emerging rubber tree foliage becomes to dense. But still well worth doing.

It is not difficult to stumble across something different and unusual on the Web. The other day I found a website for can collectors. The Can Museum is an "international collaboration of beverage cans for the enjoyment of everyone around the world". When I searched for "ginger" I was presented with 360 cans ranging from well-known brands such as Schweppes and Canada Dry to brands I've never heard of such as Hyde Park and Cott. Have a look and take a trip down memory lane.

Scientific American posted an article on its blog about how Kenyans are eating White's ginger out of existence. The herb (Mondia whitei) is not a member of the ginger family but has roots similar in appearance to ginger rhizomes. It is popular in Africa because it is believed to have virility enhancing properties. It is so popular, in fact, that it is now very difficult to find in Kenya. The Kenya Wildlife Service believes that companies in Florida and China are producing the herb to satisfy the growing demand. These companies may not have the market to themselves though. To protect its dwindling rain forests, the Kenyan government has started the Kakamega Environmental Education Programme. Part of this project involves the planting of the Prunus africanus tree intercropped with White's ginger. Each tree will provide support for the slow growing vines produced by the herbs. White's ginger used to be abundant in the Kakamega Forest so its re-introduction is welcome but one feels that the project needs to be protected to prevent theft. So this story could have a happy ending. A bio-friendly and commercially beneficial project. Perfect!

Speciality Crop, Ginger Levy, Adding Value and Returning Home

Farm World reported last week that federal funds are available for farmers who wish to grow ginger as a speciality crop in Indiana, USA. My knowledge of US geography is fairly basic but I would have thought that the state was too far north to be capable of producing ginger on an economically viable scale. Trusty Wikipedia tells me that the climate is humid continental which means that the summers are warm to hot and often humid. Acceptable at a push but the growing season is only up to 185 days. Ginger typically requires nine months but six months will do if you want to harvest young, immature rhizomes. So I'm a little puzzled by this. Unless, of course, the ginger is grown indoors!

A hospital in Jamshedpur in India has invited tenders for the supply of ginger for its diet department. I'm used to reading about hugely expensive tenders for IT systems and construction projects but there must be a low end to any scale. With India being the world's largest producer of ginger, this must be the most cost-effective way to find an acceptable supplier.

Time is running out for those of you who have not yet applied for a position on the Ginger Industry Research and Development Advisory Committee. This new body is run by the Australian government's Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) and will consist of a small group of people with a range of skills and experience covering the production, research, and value-adding sectors of the ginger industry. The closing date for applications is tomorrow.

Still with the RIRDC, the Australian government has introduced a 0.5 per cent levy on the sale price of fresh ginger, seed ginger and processing ginger that is produced in Australia and sold or processed in Australia. The levy, introduced on 1st April 2011, will provide funding for ginger research and development conducted by the RIRDC.

It is well known in the ginger industry that selling raw ginger generates a lower economic return than processed ginger. With this in mind, the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) in the Nigerian state of Imo is collaborating with the Mbaitoli Ginger Growers Association to increase the value of the crops by converting the raw ginger into ground ginger. The RMRDC has now awarded contracts to two local engineering companies to create the machinery for slicing, drying and grinding the raw ginger. It is planned that the ground ginger, which has a considerably longer shelf life than raw ginger, will be used in the domestic food and drink industry and also exported.

The Malnad region of Karnataka state in southern India has been known for its coffee, green chillies and rice. But soon, according to the Deccan Herald, it will also be known for its ginger. The financial returns from growing ginger have now become so attractive that not only are farmers switching crops but young men who were previously driven away to the cities in search of work are now returning home to start a new career in ginger farming.

Whilst prices are looking good in parts of India, the price of ginger in neighbouring Bhutan has more than halved compared to a year ago. For many Bhutanese farmers, ginger is their only source of income. The farmers say that the prices are set by the buyers who all come from India. I can't help but wonder whether these buyers are indulging in a spot of speculating; buying cheaply in Bhutan from farmers with no other established means to market and storing the ginger whilst the price in India rises. As agriculture provides employment for 80 per cent of the population, is it not time for Bhutan to start expanding and widening its export markets and thereby reduce its reliance on a small group of international traders.