Chinese ginger farmers hold out for better returns

The ginger harvest in China is entering its final week, and growers there are hoping for prices similar to those from last year. Last year's prices spurred on additional acreage, and growers are holding on to their ginger in hopes of seeing better returns.

“The ginger harvest has been good this year, despite some dry weather,” said Abram Kong of Jining Arrow International. “Farmers took very good care of their ginger this year because of last year's high-priced crop. So yields have been about 30 percent better than they were last year.” Planted area also rose by 15 percent over last year, as more growers looked to cash in on another lucrative market.

“Normally, factory people store around 300 tons, but they haven't stored too much because they feel there's some risk in storing too much at the beginning,” explained Kong. “Farmers, on the other hand, refuse to sell their ginger at low prices. Last crop, they got RMB 14.00 per kilo, and this year the price is around RMB 4.50 per kilo. So the situation is that farmers are in no hurry to sell and factories have slowed their buying.