The Peruvian organic ginger season has begun and growers and shippers are readying for another season of strong demand.
Peru begins with new crop organic ginger this month.
“The season in Peru begins with new crop in June where ginger is approximately 90 percent mature,” says Gino Neira of Inkawald based in Lima, Peru. (It’s headquarters are located there while its other facility is in Satipo, Peru.) Inkawald began the season shipping one weekly container to Europe and another to Miami, FL where in turn it’s distributed to cities including New York, Los Angeles and more.
Competing with Peruvian ginger is China, who ships the most significant volumes of ginger, but also Brazil, Thailand and Costa Rica. “The imported ginger from China and Brazil is conventional and larger while the Peruvian is organic, has excellent quality, is small and has much more intense flavor which makes it a unique product,” says Neira.
In 2020, Peru exported approximately $105 million worth of ginger, a growth of approximately 155 percent compared to 2019 says Neira. “The export volumes doubled--this season has just begun so we hope this trend will continue,” he says. “Last year we had greater demand because the pandemic changed eating habits of consumers. They began consuming more organic products, including ginger and garlic.”
Gino Neira and Ivan Neira.
Foodservice coming back
He anticipates for 2021 that demand will continue to grow, particularly with foodservice outlets being reestablished and vaccination levels around the world making consumers increasingly comfortable to go back out.
However to meet that demand, logistics continues to challenge movement out of Peru. “Hopefully there will be a state policy to improve the infrastructure of the highways in Peru ensuring safer transport. It’s also important to improve the port terminals so that the process is more effective, costs are reduced and the product reaches final consumers with a better price to be more competitive as a country,” Neira says. Positive signs in this direction include developments at the Port of Chancay, which is 75 kilometers from Lima. This port is going to become the first Chinese logistics hub for the Pacific side of Latin America following a $3 million infrastructure investment for operation in 2022.
Neira says Peruvian ginger is organic, has excellent quality, is small and has much more intense flavor.
Meanwhile on ginger pricing, Neira notes while the price increased somewhat by the end of 2020, January to March 2021 also saw stronger pricing increases given the demand for ginger rises in the Northern hemisphere when Peruvian product is scarce. However incorporating into those prices are increased maritime freight costs to both Europe and the U.S.
Looking ahead to 2021, Neira says Inkawald is going to exhibit again this year at Fruit Attraction along with the IPD Germany program and will also the upcoming Organic Produce Summit.
For more information:
Gino Neira
Inkawald
Tel: (+51) 947 656 188
gneira@inkawald.com
www.inkawald.com