The new harvest season of Chinese ginger was already coming to an end by late October and early November. The entire harvest has been stored in warehouses for a month to complete the suberization process. Because this is fresh ginger, the rhizomes are still quite tender. Many companies have begun to process the fresh ginger to make preserved ginger. And some companies have already started exporting. Manager Wang of Jining Shangzhuo Food Co., Ltd., recently talked about current conditions in the Chinese ginger industry.
Manager Wang first talked about conditions in production areas. "The main ginger production areas in Shandong increased their production volume by around 30%-40% this year. However, cold weather came early this year, so not all the ginger was harvested on time. Some of the ginger was affected by frostbite. In general, however, the product quality is quite stable this season."
Jining Shangzhuo Food mainly exports air-dried ginger to the European market and preserved ginger to the Middle Eastern market. "We have already begun exporting some of our preserved ginger. And the first container of dried ginger is planned for departure in late December or early January."
"The purchase price in production areas was around 1 yuan [0.16 USD] per 0.5 kg. That is only a third of the purchase price around the same time in the previous year. The FOB export price of processed ginger is around 950 USD per ton. That is 60% less than around the same time last year. The price is low because the overall production volume greatly expanded this year. The supply volume is huge and market demand is weak, so the price dropped. More recently the price slowly warmed up again, but the in the long run the price will not rise much," said manager Wang.
Cargo space is slightly less scarce than a month ago, but the shipping fees remain high. Many major ports around the globe suffer from backlogs, which creates a lot of uncertainty in the shipping industry. Shipping containers are often significantly delayed. Many ports struggle with a shortage of workers and their clearance pace is slower than usual. They deal with serious congestion issues. In some cases the shipping containers reach their port of destination more than half a month behind schedule," said manager Wang. "The price of shipping from Qingdao to Europe is more than 11,500 USD per container. The shipping fee is more or less the same as the product value of container full of ginger."
When asked about future trends in the market, manager Wang replied, "overseas markets are preparing for Christmas and New Year's Eve, and afterwards the Chinese market will prepare for Spring Festival [1 February, 2022]. Suppliers will have to dispatch their products well in advance. I think the peak period of ginger export will take place between late December and January. The price will not change much."
In addition to ginger, Jining Shangzhuo Food also exports garlic and onions. The company has an annual export volume of more than 1,000 containers.
For more information:
Wang Junjie - Manager
Jining Shangzhuo Food Co., Ltd.
WhatsApp: +8613213293300
WhatsApp: +8617362151011
Website: www.shangzhuofood.com
E-mail: [email protected]