Some of the processing factories in China have resumed operations. The export market is also gradually opening up for business. China is a large country when it comes to the production of ginger and garlic, so the export conditions for domestic companies are closely followed by traders in overseas markets. Two representatives of Chinese companies in the ginger and garlic industries recently shared their views on current conditions in the ginger and garlic export market.
Garlic
Manager Sun is a spokesperson for a Chinese garlic export company. The main export markets for this company are North America, Europe, and the Middle East. According to manager Sun, "the market demand from Europe and the Middle East has been relatively high in recent days. The small bags of garlic are particularly popular. However, our overall export volume is several tens of shipping containers smaller than around this time last year. Although all our factories have gradually resumed operations, not all of our employees are back at work. This means that we can not operate at full capacity. Our processing capability is currently limited. This unfortunately caused delays in the delivery of some of our orders."
When asked about recent price developments in the garlic market, manager Sun replied, "several factories recently resumed operations. In addition, the garlic volume in storage is relatively big this year. This means that market supply is gradually growing. The price of preserved garlic recently dropped as a result of this readjustment between supply and demand. The export price of garlic is around 1,400 USD per ton in the North American market and around 1,700 USD per ton in the European market."
Ginger
The Chinese garlic industry is not the only industry to slowly resume business. The Chinese ginger industry shows a similar development. Manager Wang is a representative of a fresh ginger export company. The company has been at a complete standstill for several weeks. Production was halted and export was stopped. The company began to produce and transport fresh ginger last week, but currently only operates at half power. According to manager Wang, "the price of Chinese ginger recently went up. The current price is around 1,700-1,800 USD per ton. I expect the price to experience a period of rapid decline when all factories resume operations, which will cause the export volume to expand."
"Our current export volume is one shipping container per week on average. Distribution is still limited because of restrictions on transport. The fresh ginger we purchase cannot be delivered to us on time, which means that we in turn have to delay some of the orders we received. Furthermore, shipping container companies and pallet companies can not deliver on time either, and there is a shortage of labor. We therefore accept only a limited volume of new orders at this time. Most factories are still processing and selling ginger from storage. Only relatively small-scale factories have exhausted their reserves. The larger companies with sufficient reserves are still able to fulfill orders."