The Brazilian ginger season started at the beginning of the year, in January. The season runs for the majority of the year, wrapping up in November. “Right now, we are in the first part of the season where we export young ginger by air. Once we get to June, the ginger will have matured enough to be able to be shipped by boat and we will supply ocean-freighted ginger for the remainder of the season until November,” says Fred Tavares of UGBP. UGBP is the Union of Growers of Brazilian Papayas, but they are also involved in exporting ginger.
Volumes are up this season
The ginger season in Brazil this year looks good so far. “The weather was really ideal for ginger during the growing season,” Tavares says. “We’re not only expecting really good quality, but the volume will also be up by 20% compared to last year,” he adds. The Brazilian ginger is grown in two main regions of the country, with 60% of the production being located in Espírito Santo and 40% being in São Paulo and Santa Catarina.
The Brazilian ginger is distributed on their internal market, as well exported to Argentina, Uruguay, the US and Europe. “The United States receives almost half of the volumes, at around 44.6%, and in 2019 they were the top importing country for ginger, having imported $117 million worth of ginger. A third of the volumes go to the Netherlands, and the last 20% is distributed in the other destinations of Uruguay, Italy, Russia and Argentina,” Tavares says.
Potential for dried ginger
In addition to fresh ginger, Brazilian exporters see great potential in the European market for dried ginger. Tavares shares: “The European market has been growing in demand for dried ginger. The demand is expected to continue growing in the coming years and the prices are slowly rising. The top 3 most interesting markets in Europe are the Netherlands, the UK and Germany. These countries import huge volumes of ginger, so they are good focus markets.”
“Ginger’s overall popularity has been growing a lot recently because of its health benefits, helping with digestive problems, the flu, and even stress,” Tavares concludes.
For more information:
Fred Tavares
UGBP
Tel: +1 305 365 7811
Email: ftavares@ugbp.com