The area under ginger crop has increased more than ten-fold in South India due to good returns in recent years spurring farmers to plant more. As a result the output has also risen, according to PV Eliyas, a Wayanad-based trader and grower of ginger in Karnataka, and this rise in output has caused prices to plummet.
More farmers have taken up ginger cultivation in Karnataka, raising the area from around 15,000 acres a decade ago to 150,000 acres at present, he said.
Besides, good farm management practices and irrigation facilities, of late, have increased productivity per acre by 25 per cent, he said.
Meanwhile, demand has also increased significantly, outstripping production, he said. As a result, the price of fresh ginger was at ₹1,000 per 60-kg bag. However, old ginger (vegetable) was being traded at ₹2,200 per bag against ₹3,400 a couple of years ago.
Export of ginger from the country in the April-June 2016 period increased by 40 per cent in volume to 5,800 tonnes valued at ₹62.70 crore from 3,911 tonnes valued at ₹70.25 crore in the corresponding period last year. However, there is a drop of 11 per cent in value. The decline in the unit value is attributed to the rise in exports.
According to growers in Kerala and Karnataka, for cultivating ginger on one acre, an investment of around ₹350,000 is needed.
All the input costs have increased significantly and the yield per acre worked out to 300 bags or 18 tonnes, he claimed.
Meanwhile, Kochi traders said non-remunerative prices had led to the gradual disappearance of cultivation of the well-known high quality ‘Cochin Ginger’ (that has a distinctive, lemon-like flavour) popular in international spice markets.
India is the largest producer of ginger in the world, with an estimated 7,99,860 tonnes from an area of 1,53,450 ha in 2015-16, according to official statistics.
However, in terms of area, Nigeria and China are on top.
The main overseas markets of the commodity are Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE, Morocco, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, the UK and the US.
It is estimated that annually, around 1.8 million tonnes of ginger is produced all over the world. India and China contribute almost 50 per cent of world ginger production.
(1 Indian Rupee=0.015USD)
Source: thehindubusinessline.com
