Great divergence in market demand for Chinese fresh ginger
"China is a large producer and exporter of fresh ginger. The overall fresh ginger supply is spread o…"China is a large producer and exporter of fresh ginger. The overall fresh ginger supply is spread out as production areas are widely distributed across China and their production seasons overlap. Apart from October to mid-December, when only ginger from refrigerated storage enters the market, fresh ginger is available throughout the rest of the year." This is according to Mr. Hao Shu of Jining Huichang Agricultural Products Co., Ltd.
"Looking back on the close of the fresh ginger harvest season last month, the overall production volume decreased in comparison with the same period last year as a result of extreme weather conditions. Those conditions also had a definite influence on the product quality of fresh ginger, which means that the volume of fresh ginger suitable for export was relatively small this year."
"China has a strong position in the international ginger market, but as other countries increase their production volume and improve product quality, China still needs to consolidate its market share, and there remains a degree of competition. Furthermore, various export markets in different countries have their own requirements of fresh ginger import. For example, the European markets pay close attention to product quality, while the Southeast Asian markets pay more attention to price. Our observations show that the main competition for Chinese fresh ginger in the European market comes from Brazil. Product quality and product variety are quite different for Chinese ginger and Brazilian ginger. The actual retail conditions of fresh ginger depend on individual products, as well as the purchasers and market preferences."
"We export ginger to Russia, the USA, the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia. The ginger we export to Europe is air-dried, while the ginger we export to the Middle East is fresh. In all honesty, the price of air-dried ginger is almost twice that of fresh ginger, but the product quality is also higher, which satisfies the particular demands of European markets."