Ginger Popcorn, Exports Halted & Ginger Ale Recall

We are a little late with this post as we are working on a major development at All Things Ginger. We are not going to tell you what it is yet but when it is ready we think you will be impressed.

The Dieline, a website dedicated to package design, reports that Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale is the most successful new product launch to date for Dr Pepper Snapple Group. I've never tried it but I am quite taken with the look of the can.

A gingerbread-flavoured popcorn has been launched ready for Easter by the UK gourmet popcorn maker Joe & Seph’s. Popcorn sales in the UK have increased rapidly over the last three years with the market in 2011 worth £53 million according to Mintel. (Source: The Food & Drink Innovation Network).

There was a blunt message last week in The Produce News - "Chinese ginger exports have ground to a halt". What normally happens in China is that ginger is harvested in November and placed in sand to cure and dry in caves until January. But this winter China is experiencing one of its coldest winters in four decades and the ginger is not curing. The price of Chinese ginger has already risen as a consequence and is expected to continue rising.

The ginger revival in Sierra Leone has been boosted by the news that the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act has certified ginger for export to the USA and Europe. Sierra Leone has been exporting ginger on a small scale to the Netherlands for a number of years. This has been quite an achievement as the Sierra Leone ginger industry was all but wiped out during the civil war from 1991-2002. (Source: Awoko).

Here is some important news if you live in New Zealand and you have bought a Schweppes Dry Ginger Ale with a best-before date between January 10th and January 30th, 2014. It has got to go back. Coca-Cola is recalling this drink along with four other Schweppes drinks because of a possible problem with the glass bottle. (Source: 3news).

Greene King, the pub retailer and brewer, has revealed its 2013 guest ales calendar. And guess what? The brewer has a ginger offering. Twisted Wheel, a light ale with a twist of ginger, will be available from April to June. According to The Drinks Business, this beer is named after the famous Manchester northern soul club which had previously been the UK's first Mod club.

The Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association has published an interesting article about growing ginger in the state. We have mentioned growing ginger in Maine before in this post. Farmers in the state appear to concentrate on producing immature (or baby) ginger which is popular both cooked and raw in salads.

The Fiji Times reported that over the last ten years the country's production of ginger has been 75% immature (baby, green) and 25% mature. With the country set to start exporting mature ginger to Australia, the Ministry of Agriculture needs farmers to convert their immature ginger crops to mature ginger.

In our last post we reported that Nepal has now become the third largest producer of ginger in the world. The Himalayan has now stated that Nepal is third in terms of the total export volume of ginger but eighth in terms of value. In other words, Nepal is not getting enough for its ginger compared to other countries. The article also mentions that ginger production in Nepal is growing a faster rate than in the major competitor countries of India, China and Indonesia. The Kathmandu University School of Management has found that the best way to increase export earnings is to export value-export value-added ginger. And the best form of value-added ginger is ginger powder which is seeing increasing demand around the world.

The price of Nigerian dried ginger appears to be stable even though 70% of the current harvest has been sold. Incidentally, Nigeria used to be the third largest exporter of ginger until Nepal overtook it.

The Radio Taiwan blog published a post on the benefits of ginger in winter. What took my eye was the fact that ginger is harvested in Taiwan all year.

Niche Market, Brazilian Exports & High Price In Nepal

The actress Gwyneth Paltrow is having a healthy-eating recipe book published this coming April which I am sure we will be hearing a lot more about between now and then (the Graham Norton Show perhaps?). Anyway, one of her 185 recipes is salmon burgers with pickled ginger. It doesn't immediately grab me but if you do give it a try, let me know what it is like.

The Virginia Farm Bureau is the state of Virginia's largest farmers organisation. It protects farmers' interests and dispenses help and advice. And a recent piece of advice to farmers is to grow ginger in 2013. According to Dr Reza Rafie, a Virginia State University horticulture specialist. "It’s a considerable niche market opportunity". Incidentally, the advice refers to the use of hoop houses. These are more commonly known as polytunnels in the UK.

If you are interested in growing ginger you can order ginger 'seed' from East Branch Ginger in North Carolina from the second week of January.

The Trinidad and Tobago Newsday reported on some of the shopping stories on the day before Christmas Eve in Port-of-Spain. One retailer was having a bad time selling boxer shorts and jerseys but was having more success selling ginger root for making ginger beer.

In my last post I mentioned the problems being faced by ginger farmers in Antigua who are being plagued by the Giant African snail. The same source, the Antigua Observer, has now reported on one particular farmer who has lost all of her ginger crop at a time of the year, Christmas, when ginger is very popular. Someone must be able to control these little blighters, surely.

We are about halfway through the Brazilian ginger export season now. December and January will see new ginger sent to Europe, principally the Netherlands.

The Caribbean Bottling Company produces Schweppes Ginger Ale for the Bahamian market. But recently production was suspended after an unusual taste was detected in the 12oz cans. At the beginning the problem was proving so difficult to resolve that representatives from Coca-Cola and the can supplier were brought in. It has now been alleged that a cleaning agent could be involved. (Source: Tribune 242 (1), Tribune 242 (2)).

Nepalese ginger farmers will be ending the year on a high. Last year, ginger was trading for as little as Rs 5 per kg but now it can fetch Rs 40 per kg. And the reason? Because the price was so low last year many farmers decided to give ginger a miss this year. This has resulted in a shortage thereby pushing up the price. (Source: The Kathmandu Post).

I'd like to finish by wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year.

Royal Wedding Packaging, Ginger Tonic And Low Nigerian Stocks

Coca-Cola Enterprises will mark the forthcoming Royal Wedding between William & Kate by bringing out a Schweppes Canada Dry Ginger Ale in special limited edition themed packaging. Unusual but not surprising given that many businesses will be cashing in on the wedding. But it was only when I was delving a little deeper (I do like to delve) that I learnt that Schweppes is not actually manufactured by Schweppes, well, not in the UK anyway. The Schweppes brand is owned by Dr Pepper who make it in the US. In the UK and many other countries like Russia, Egypt, Vietnam and Russia it is made by Coca-Cola. In Denmark it is made by Carlsberg but I assume it is still non-alcoholic there. And in Poland it is made by Pepsico. I wonder how many other famous brands have their manufacture contracted out?

Still on the subject of Schweppes, Orangina Schweppes has launched a Ginger & Cardamom tonic in its Heritage tonic range. Unfortunately it is only available in Spain as Orangina Schweppes holds the rights to manufacture and distribute there (and France & Portugal). Message to Dr Pepper - don't forget the rest of us!

I've often wondered how much profit can be made from trading in ginger. Last week Pakistani retailers were buying Chinese ginger from a wholesale market for Rs75 per kg (down from Rs100 the week before) and selling it to consumers for Rs100-120 per kg. That is a markup of 30-60% which is a healthy profit by any measure.

Reports are emerging that Nigerian dried ginger stocks could run out by next month. With China concentrating its exports on the European market and India struggling to produce enough to cover increasing demand from both domestic and international markets, buyers have turned their attention to Nigeria. I find it strange that food and drink manufacturers can substitute one country's ginger for another country's ginger. Ginger from different parts of the world exhibit different characteristics such as in taste, smell and pungency. I liken ginger to wine; a Chardonnay from one region of France differs from a Chardonnay from another region of France and certainly differs from a Chardonnay from England or New Zealand or Chile. Terroir is just as important to ginger as it is to wine. Do manufacturers realise this?