Rising ginger prices add spice to farmers’ lives

SUNSARI, MAY 12 - Ginger prices have reached a 10-year-high of Rs 190 per kg amid growing demand, particularly from the Indian market.

Prices of this popular spice varies with the seasons. During the off season from May to July, prices peak. They drop to the year’s lowest during the main harvesting season which happens from November to January.

According to the Dharan-based agro market, ginger prices last week hovered between Rs 160 to Rs 190 per kg. During the same period last year, prices reached Rs 120 per kg.

There are around 800 households engaged in ginger farming in Bishnupaduka, Sunsari . These families are pleased by the skyrocketing prices. Each household here grows 400 to 2,000 kg of ginger annually. The spicy root is one of the major sources of income for them.

This year’s prices have thrilled farmers, said Tilak Rai, a local farmer. In the last fiscal year, ginger exports from the agro market amounted to 5,650 tonnes. And in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, exports reached 4,000 tonnes.

“We have estimated that exports will cross the 6,000-tonne mark by the end of the fiscal year,” said Laxman Bhattarai, manager of the agro market. Due to the higher prices, Bhattarai fears that farmers might be encouraged to sell even their ginger seeds. “If this happens, it can affect production next year.”

Nepal produced 255,208 tonnes of ginger in 2012 to retain the position of the world’s third largest producer of ginger after India and China. According to the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), output jumped 17.99 percent in 2012.

India and China were the top producers with outputs amounting to 703,000 tonnes and 462,500 tonnes respectively. The stats show that Nepal’s share of world production of ginger stood at 12.18 percent. Nepal’s share of ginger production in South Asia is 21.39 percent.

There has also been an increment in the ginger production area in Nepal. According to the FAO, Nepal’s land under ginger farming has increased to 20,256 hectares in 2012 from 19,081 hectares in 2011. Land under ginger production was 9,189 hectares in 2002.

The number of Indian traders visiting the villages to purchase ginger is rising, farmers said. Ginger is exported through Kakkarbhitta, Jogbani and Bhairahawa border points. The eastern border point of Kakkarbhitta accounts for 95 percent of the country’s total ginger exports.

Dhankuta, Terhathum, Bhojpur, Sankhuwasabha, Udaypur and Khotang are the major ginger producing districts in the Eastern Region. Ginger is mostly used by the Ayurvedic pharmaceutical industry, particularly in India.

Besides, it is used for making jam, jelly, candy and sauce, among other products. More than 98 percent of Nepali ginger is shipped to the southern neighbour.