In 2001, Pommer Commercio International started growing and shipping ginger in Brazil. The family-owned company opened a US branch in 2013 and has been bringing Brazilian ginger to the US since then. “We are the only company in Brazil that focuses 100 percent on growing ginger,” says Apanatche Bark with Fort Lauderdale-based Pommer Fresh Foods. “We have our own land and have more than 200 associated growers that grow ginger almost exclusively for us,” he added. In 2016, 30 percent of sales came from the company’s own land and this year, that number is expected to increase to 40-50 percent.
Each box is traceable
“Brazilian ginger is one of the best ginger types available,” says Frederico Stuhr with Pommer Fresh Foods. “Our growers are all small family-owned farms that put a lot of effort in growing a high-quality, fresh product.” After the ginger is picked, it is dried and shipped within 5-8 days and not kept in cold storage. “Because we ship it dry, it has a beautiful shiny skin. We know every container we ship and every box is traceable by grower number, farm number and harvest date. Nobody else does it this way,” commented Stuhr.
US is main market, followed by Europe
The US is the main market for Pommer and the company is still gaining market share. In addition, ginger is sold to the European market. “The Netherlands is our main destination in Europe and from there, the product gets distributed to other European countries. We hope to open a European office within a couple of years,” mentioned Bark.
In house logistics
The logistics of shipping from Brazil to the US are taken care of in-house. “We take care of everything,” said Stuhr. “We have our own packing house and our trucks transport the ginger from its harvest location to the port in Salvador. That’s a journey of about 1,000 miles. From there, the product is loaded on to the vessel and will be on the water for 12-15 days until it reaches its final destination - Everglades, FL.”
Tighter market this season
For the upcoming season, Stuhr expects the ginger market to be a bit tighter compared to last year. “This year, growers planted only 70 percent of what they planted last year in response to oversupplies. The quality is expected to be much better as growers will be better able to take care of the product,” he said. Baby ginger from Brazil will be available as of April and shipped by air. The regular season starts around June/July and will last into November/December. During Brazil’s off-season, the company imports high-quality ginger from Thailand.
At the moment, Pommer offers conventional ginger only. “We hope to have an organic certification within 2 years. Our associated growers use their land to grow other vegetables, but we hope to receive the organic certification for our own land,” finished Stuhr.
