The price of fresh ginger has been high in Chongqing and shows no sign of dropping. Even though the new harvest has already entered the market, the price did not fall, but went up instead. Data from agri.cn shows that the overall surface area devoted to ginger plantation in China expanded by 15% and reached 293 thousand hectares in 2017. This was a record number.
Li Tao, a fresh ginger data analyst at Zhuochuang Information, stated that profit in the fresh ginger industry has been considerable in recent years, which fueled the enthusiasm of ginger farmers for expansion of the surface area devoted to ginger plantation. The surface area devoted to ginger plantation in major production areas expanded by 15%-20% in 2018. However, poor weather conditions limited the harvest, so that the overall production volume did not significantly increase. The volume of top-quality ginger was particularly limited. The price of fresh ginger therefore maintained its high position.
Many traders with fresh ginger in cold storage last year suffered financial loss, which made them hesitant to purchase new ginger. By the end of May, however, they gradually began to purchase fresh ginger before the supply finished. Farmers were hesitant to sell and their asking price was strong. Traders found it difficult to secure a supply and the price therefore continued to climb.
