India produces 275,000 tonnes of ginger per annum, almost a third of the world’s production of 835,000 tonnes.
Domestic consumption of ginger is rapidly increasing and so are imports from cheaper origins. Volume of fresh ginger transported to North India has increased dramatically, a trader from Wayanad said. Entry of big retailers and refrigeration facilities has meant increased demand for fresh ginger.
“The markets are steady and range-bound. The demand is sluggish and any activity in the market will be seen only in October,” Anand Kishore of Kishore Spices said. He said that the next crop is estimated to be good on reports of good rain. Stocks of fresh ginger in cold-storages is estimated around 300,000 bags, Anand said.
“Indian ginger is at a premium compared to China’s and Nigeria’s. Nigeria is quoting $ 2,200 per tonne and China is selling at $2,600. Indian ginger is selling around $2,900,” Ramalingam Vishwanath of GRK
Traders told FE. The domestic demand is sustaining the ginger sector, Ramalingam added.
Production is likely to be high with farmers getting good returns from ginger over the past two years, KS Mohanan, a leading trader from Wayanad said.
Wayanad and surrounding areas in Kerala, which accounted for bulk of the ginger in the 90s, have seen ginger farming coming down rapidly due to labour shortage and higher input cost. But enterprising farmers from Kerala moved out to nearby places in Karnataka in the search for land and cheap labour. In Karnataka, ginger is grown on about 29,000 hectares. It is cultivated both as the main crop as well as an intercrop in plantations.
According to Spices Board data, India exported 24,800 tonnes of the commodity during 2015-16 as against 40,400 tonnes for the corresponding period of 2014-15. The unit price of exports in the last fiscal stands at R109.12 per kg as against R82.01 in the previous fiscal. Board records show that Indian ginger was priced at $5.29 per kg in the New York market compared to $3.57 per kg for Chinese whole peeled ginger in the first week of July.
