With summer approaching, the ginger market is traditionally entering a quieter period. Yet, in recent weeks, the market has shown a noticeable price increase. "Ginger always remains an unpredictable market. Although demand isn't particularly strong, prices continue to rise. We are also coming off a period of very low prices earlier this year, which encouraged many speculators to buy up large volumes of ginger," says sales manager Gerry Li of Vision International, based in Poeldijk.
The originally Chinese company has now been active in the Dutch market for 14 years. "Over the years, ginger imports have become increasingly concentrated," Gerry explains. In addition to Chinese ginger, the company also imports ginger year-round from Thailand and Peru and offers Brazilian ginger in the second half of the year. "This allows us to spread our risks and offer customers a range of options," Gerry adds.
Left: ginger in flow pack, right: organic ginger from Peru
Growth in processing
"In the early years of our operations in the Netherlands, we saw a significant increase in ginger imports. Although European ginger imports peaked in 2021 and the market has remained relatively stable since, we as a company continue to see growth in our imports," Gerry observes. "We're still seeing growth in markets like Eastern Europe, Spain, and Italy. Otherwise, sales to supermarkets and wholesalers are stabilising. However, we continue to see growth in the processing industry."
"We are true ginger specialists and can supply in all types of packaging, from 100- and 200-gram flowpacks to 5 kg boxes, bins, and tippers," says Gerry. Nearly 50% of Vision International's ginger supply is now organic. "The price gap between conventional and organic ginger is nowhere near as wide as it used to be," he notes.
Thai ginger
Gerry cites climate change and geopolitical developments as the biggest challenges. "At the same time, this also presents opportunities for us as ginger specialists." He doesn't believe that new ginger cultivation projects in north-western Europe will create real competition. "Technically, it's possible, but the cost price is far too high. You'd have to sell fresh ginger at €15 to €20 per kilo. There will be room for smaller local initiatives, but those are negligible compared to the total ginger volumes."
"The long transit times mean we have to keep a sufficient stock of ginger. Containers from China now take 40 to 45 days to arrive. From Thailand, it's also around 40 days. Tariffs from China were fairly stable earlier this year until the announcement of new US import tariffs. After that, container rates jumped from $1,800 to $3,200 within a week. Freight rates from Peru to Europe are extremely high, at around $6,000 in total."
On the right: turmeric
Besides Chinese ginger, Vision Fresh is also working to gain a foothold in the European market with pomelos and nashi pears. "That's not easy. These products are relatively expensive, and inflation doesn't help. What's important for us is that we focus on the long term and don't want to be dependent on the spot market. Around 70% of our ginger sales are pre-programmed, and we'd like to keep it that way."
For more information:
Gerry Li
Vision Fresh
ABC Westland 668
2685 DH Poeldijk
Tel: +31 174700205
Mob: +31 (0)6 40215300
[email protected]
www.visionfresh.nl