The Ginge Industry - Essay Example

Introduction The cultivation and trade of ginger is one of the leading industries of the world spice trade. The industry traces its origins to thetropical regions of China, being traded as far as the Middle East as early as 650 AD. Similarly dated records also have been found in India indicating the extensive use of ginger in households and apothecaries. It was also one of the first spaces traded to Europe, having been documented in 9th century commercial logs (McGee 2004). Its cultivation has been both as spice and for medicinal purposes. It has been traded as a raw product or preserved through pickling, salting and drying. Agriculturally, it is also one of the first and most successful crop transplanted, thriving from subtropical to semi-arid climes like western Regions of Africa and the Caribbean well since it was traded in the 1000's (Hutton & Cassio 2003). As a food productive or additive in Western culinary traditions, it is has been associated predominantly in sweets, desserts and beverages. However, in Easter traditions, ginger is also of the most common herbs used in meals, beverages and even ornamentation. Indian and Chinese texts, dating back as early as the fourth century indicate that ginger has been used extensively to treat gastrointestinal and circulatory conditions. It is also considered as an effective mild stimulant: 15th century Spanish documentation cite a beverage made from boiled chopped ginger drank for breakfast by indigenous peoples of the Philippine islands while 19th century English taverns would serve ground ginger to garnish ale (Corn 1999; McGee 2004). Spice Industry The demand for spice has driven exploration and globalization. Its value has not just been recognized economically but also socially as an element of culture and scientifically for its potential in pharmacology and medicine. Considering the Europe naval race for the Asian spice islands which laid the foundation for imperialism in the 14th and 15th century, there is no doubt that it is an industry of world importance. One of the spices that have figured well in the spice trade is ginger, a spice that seems inconsequential today but was once considered as an indication of class and culture (Hutton & Cassio 2003). Estimates of the global spice industry have been generally positive, growing by about 5% since 1998 (Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] 2005). The industry is dominated by India followed by Indonesia and China, which is exhibiting the most significant growth in recent years (see Appendix A). Spice production in Thailand from 1998 to 2001 list garlic, ginger, hot pepper, chili pepper, shallot, clove and pepper as key products ("Ginger" 2003). In previous years, there has been a focus on peppers because of rise in world prices. However, subsequent declines in global indices have also been credited for the deceleration of the industry. Appendix A also documents the 2001 standing of the Thai spice industry worldwide. Based on estimates done by the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives (MAC), it estimates the value of the industry to US$19.36 million in 2001 (FAO 2005). As seen in Appendix B, pepper cultivation represents the bulk of spice production in country. Thus, though there has been decline in the price of the commodity, the size of its market supports its role as primary spice commodity for the country. The bulk of revenues from the trade of spices are supported significant domestic consumption but the main motivation for players in the Thai spice industry is to supply international demand. As seen in Appendix C, Thai spice exports make up the majority of total production. Ginger Cultivation and Trade China holds market leadership in the ginger category, 25% of the total world production, eclipsing spice trade leader India ("Ginger", 2003). However, though China ranks as the world's leader in production, export of ginger has been dominated by Japan. This is because much of China's production has been directed to its domestic markets (FAO 2005). Cultivation of ginger was transferred through Indo-Chinese trade routes but the country's participation in the world trade was established in the 16th century with the arrival of Dutch, Portuguese and English traders (Hutton & Cassio 2003). It is also through these channels that the use of ginger expanded in Western traditions: in an 1880 book published in London written by Robert Bentley and Henry Trimen for example, they document the extensive use of ginger in cuisine and medicine (Morton 2004). Ginger is classified as a creeping plant and most commonly known for its tuberous rhizome, which is also the most commonly utilized part of the plant: depending on the maturity, the crop can either be used fresh, preserved or processed as an additive, preservative or as a food supplement. This has been attributed to the demand for specific variants and preparation of ginger currently not supported by local industries (Al-Achi 2002). The most recent areas of development in the use of ginger have developed form intensive studies of its pharmacology (Corn 1999). Researches have focused on the potential of ginger as an antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory effect in addition to its more popularized uses against nausea and emesis, digestive problems or potential as a mild aphrodisiac ("Ginger" 2002). Though ginger can be viably cultivated in a wide range of climates, major production has been limited to subtropical and tropical regions (see Appendix D for world ginger production distribution). In Thailand, the cultivation of ginger is considered to one of the oldest and most extensive agricultural industry, accounting for almost 4% of the world's total production (see Appendices E, F and G for world ginger production estimates). It ranks as the 5th among spices cultivated and produced in Thailand accounting for 6.3% of total land cultivated for spices and 12.7% tons of spices produced in the country (MAC 2003) (see Appendix B). Major cultivation areas are in Chiang Rai, Phrachaubkirikhan, Payao, Loei, Petchaboon, Petchaburi and Pitsanulok, cultivation generally is done from September to February and harvested after eight to ten months ("Ginger" 2003). Studies conducted by the Thai Customs Department indicate that though the country is a major exporter of ginger, it also imports a significant volume of the commodity from countries like Japan and Pakistan (MAC 2003). Case in Point: Chiang Rai and Ginger Chiang Rai province is located in Northern Thailand, bordering Myanmar and Laos. The province has a byline of being the gateway to the Indochinese Golden Triangle, it serves as a major agricultural and trade center for the region. Agriculture is the predominant industry though there has been significant effort to develop the tourism industry in the area in recent years. However, since the province is land-locked and some distance from beaches, the most popular of Thai tourist spots, focus has been on the promotion of local industries, culture and cuisine (Tourism Authority of Thailand 2008). Considering developing concern regarding the agricultural productivity in the province, sustaining ginger production is not just an economic concern but also a social one ("Chiang Rai farmers continue protest for third day" 2008). Furthermore, the population is mostly dependent on agriculture and time will still be needed to fully develop alternative industries like tourism, sustaining ginger production which accounts for about 10% of local agricultural production is critical ("Ginger" 2003). Ginger cultivation and trade in the province can provide insights to national and international trends in industry because Chiang Rai's proximity to Myanmar and Laos and plans for the development of economic free zones with China in the province ("Chiang Rai meeting probes Thai-China trade barriers" 2005). By sustaining a proven industry like ginger production to support local productivity until alternative industries can be fully developed, industry transitions can be accomplished steadily so that neither agricultural nor the developing industrial and service industries will compromise the former. More importantly, since ginger plays a principal part in most of the local cuisine, it can also serve as a means of social reinforcement. Implications to Consumers, Industries and Trade Markets Ginger is not just a spice it is an industry that contributes significantly national development, cultural exchange and the well-being of people. The demand for ginger is not just a sustainable enterprise but promises to grow continuously. On the part of consumers, the continued operations of ginger agriculture will allow equitable access to the commodity that has found its way to global households. This allows enrichment of existing cuisine and greater appreciation of new ones. Also, the availability of ginger in consumer markets also effectively empowers buyers which in turn can build the market's variety and range (McGee 2004; Corn 1999). In a similar manner, industries benefit from the growing demand for ginger. This ensures long-term viability of investments and development efforts. Though there has been an admitted slowdown in global performance, following general trends in the spice markets, industry analysts believe that the demand for ginger is enough to sustain current and even prospective players to the industry (Morton 2004). The existence of an established industry also creates confidence in business that can enhance financial ratings and performance of companies in the industry. Resource allocation or support for the industry can also be enhanced by the evidence of current trends. Even more importantly, as best illustrated by Chiang Rai, ginger cultivation and trade can serve as an incentive for unilateral trade. Since ginger is a commodity that is demand, there can be fewer barriers to entry to foreign markets. The great deal of interest in the production of ginger also creates opportunities for research and development which can improve practices, quality of produce, utility and yields. As seen in developing trends in the application of medicinal and pharmacological attributes of ginger, the industrial and other trade demands promise to rise in due course with the discovery of new uses for ginger. All these factors contribute to the volume of trade and weight of market for ginger not only form the perspective of other spice commodities but in global agricultural economy. References Al-Achi,Antoine (2002). A Current Look at Ginger Use. US Pharmacist, Available at Accessed August 12, 2008. Chiang Rai farmers continue protest for third day (2008). MCOT, May 26. Available at Accessed August 12, 2008. Chiang Rai meeting probes Thai-China trade barriers (2005). Bangkok Post, December 15. Available at Accessed August 12, 2008. Corn, Charles (1999). The Scents of Eden: A History of the Spice Trade. New York: Kodansha America Food And Agricultural Organization (2005). World Spice Production. New York: United Nations. Available at Accessed August 12, 2008. Ginger (2002). Los Angeles, California: Regents of the University of California. Available at Accessed August 12, 2008. Ginger (2003). Food Market Exchange. Available at Accessed August 12, 2008. Hutton, Wendy and Cassio, Alberto (2003). Handy Pocket Guide to Asian Herbs & Spices. Singapore: Periplus Editions McGee, Harold (2004). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York: Scribner pp. 425-426 Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives (2003). Ginger Production and Industries. Bangkok, Thailand: Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives Morton, Mark (2004). Cupboard Love, A Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities. Toronto, Canada: Insomniac Press Tourism Authority of Thailand (2008). Chiang Rai. Available at Accessed August 12, 2008. Appendix A Table World spice production (Source: FAOSTAT Database) Spices Year Production(Mt) 1998 1999 2000 China 523,828 556,288 584,871 World 4,724,967 4,802,892 4,939,990 Algeria 7,300 7,400 7,500 Argentina 7,300 7,500 7,100 Azerbaijan, Republic of 215 220 215 Bangladesh 139,000 138,000 144,000 Benin 15,150 14,150 14,150 Bosnia and Herzegovina 35,783 42,147 28,817 Brazil 23,050 27,761 38,443 Brunei Darussalam 20 20 25 Bulgaria 700 700 500 Burkina Faso 5,600 5,600 5,600 Cambodia 11,400 11,700 11,800 Cameroon 25,770 27,500 27,570 Cape Verde 900 1000 900 Central African Republic 100 100 102 Comoros 1,916 2,697 1,197 Congo, Dem Republic of 30,000 31,000 31,000 Costa Rica 21,819 1,725 4,875 Czech Republic 2,000 1,600 1,600 Cte d'Ivoire 14,800 14,800 14,800 Denmark 129 41 40 Djibouti 195 195 195 Dominica 158 158 158 Dominican Republic 2,000 2,500 2,500 Ecuador 354 151 160 Egypt 67,000 67,000 67,000 Eritrea 800 700 700 Ethiopia 113,150 114,150 110,960 Fiji Islands 2,410 2,660 2,860 French Polynesia 30 16 20 Georgia 85 83 70 Ghana 24,060 24,060 24,565 Greece 770 770 770 Grenada 2,700 3,140 2,500 Guatemala 18,940 15,920 16,990 Honduras 520 520 530 Hungary 68,619 37,105 44,000 India 2,163,600 2,243,700 2,255,800 Indonesia 258,167 251,802 260,902 Iran, Islamic Rep of 26,600 15,500 30,500 Jamaica 11,630 12,020 12,020 Kenya 7,285 7,105 7,248 Korea, Republic of 9,440 7,950 3,277 Kuwait 230 240 250 Laos 6,700 6,900 6,900 Lebanon 420 415 435 Madagascar 21,930 24,005 23,905 Malawi 3,785 3,822 3,560 Malaysia 26,200 27,100 27,100 Maldives 6 6 6 Mali 3,020 2,520 2,520 Mauritius 620 316 698 Mexico 92,364 91,853 91,755 Morocco 38,000 38,000 39,000 Myanmar 39,700 39,915 40,000 Nepal 34,605 35,435 36,400 Netherlands 200 200 200 Niger 5,200 5,200 5,300 Nigeria 140,500 141,500 146,500 Pakistan 179,451 160,755 208,328 Papua New Guinea 260 270 270 Peru 0 5,414 5,414 Philippines 27,100 28,000 29,000 Romania 32,500 34,000 38,000 Russian Federation 4,800 4,500 5,000 Rwanda 70 70 70 Saint Lucia 465 465 465 Saint Vincent/Grenadines 731 614 615 Sao Tome and Principe 30 30 30 Senegal 5,000 5,000 5,000 Seychelles 478 385 400 Sierra Leone 3,500 3,500 3,500 Slovenia 1,280 1,280 1,280 Solomon Islands 150 160 190 South Africa 10,000 9,500 10,000 Spain 14,073 14,100 14,100 Sri Lanka 44,140 45,640 43,300 Sudan 7,350 7,400 7,500 Syrian Arab Republic 11,343 8,012 15,051 Tanzania, United Rep of 11,900 17,000 17,100 Thailand 62,500 72,600 77,200 Togo 2,406 2,406 2,421 Trinidad and Tobago 130 130 135 Tunisia 18,900 18,900 19,000 Turkey 73,799 77,050 74,100 Uganda 5,660 5,860 6,060 Ukraine 1,500 1,500 2,500 United States of America 8,160 7,300 6,120 Vanuatu 110 110 110 Viet Nam 97,008 113,500 123,752 Yugoslavia, Fed Rep of 5,600 5,600 5,600 Zambia 4,490 4,650 4,810 Zimbabwe 24,310 23,510 17,210 Appendix B Area and production of spices in Thailand, 1999-2001 (Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives) Commodity Area (in rai) Production (in tons) 1998/1999 1999/2000 2000/2001 1998/1999 1999/2000 2000/2001 Garlic 136,561.00 144,098.00 65,329.00 117,755.00 329,928.00 137,006.00 Ginger 71,916.00 51,786.00 50,317.00 199,162.00 135,095.00 131,387.00 Hot pepper 553,375.00 516,374.00 434,306.00 472,807.00 444,558.00 389,396.00 Chili pepper 132,902.00 129,453.00 117,183.00 142,618.00 144,090.00 137,233.00 Shallot 98,382.00 136,945.00 101,287.00 200,773.00 294,197.00 224,457.00 Cloves 633.00 618.00 399.00 51.13 49.24 53.41 Pepper 20,584.00 19,547.00 20,680.00 7,426.65 10,662.87 14,361.47 Total 2,028,706.00 998,821.00 789,501.00 1,140,592.00 1,358,580.00 1,033,893.00 * 2.5 rai = 1 acre Appendix C Top 20 importers of Thai spices (Source: The Customs Department) Country Jan - Dec 2000 Jan - Dec 2001 Jan - July 2002 Quantity (kg) FOB value (Baht) Quantity (kg) FOB value (Baht) Quantity (kg) FOB value (Baht) Australia 44,407 829,805 28,767 1,075,593 22,940 917,923 Bahrain 115,945 2,994,950 416,625 8,256,666 146,100 2,839,999 Belgium 18,768 851,266 850 34,686 33,600 797,795 Brazil 4,125 144,087 3,000 60,417 120 34,400 Canada 599,356 18,619,537 793,320 20,594,651 683,595 13,710,854 Egypt 2,730 202,686 - - - - France 92,469 4,521,704 195,264 6,225,063 75,687 2,295,877 Germany 79,559 4,248,697 48,405 2,180,775 1,238 386,840 Israel 29,654 1,026,149 16,129 626,554 56,304 777,954 Japan 7,976,200 275,353,796 4,717,587 163,985,197 2,240,185 59,617,109 Kuwait 221,270 5,513,653 117,252 2,236,857 43,000 407,538 Malaysia 177,790 1,459,062 227,700 1,387,755 270,800 1,507,569 Netherlands 1,674,945 60,518,478 1,734,659 51,531,127 1,375,271 27,489,419 Pakistan 7,532,045 87,655,085 9,749,585 90,152,250 5,559,630 41,134,040 Saudi Arabia 681,350 12,781,702 355,590 6,888,597 179,360 3,031,798 Singapore 341,184 1,410,380 301,587 1,408,300 391,871 1,856,004 United Arab Emirates 2,206,406 50,771,188 1,328,558 24,092,672 406,980 5,286,746 United Kingdom 3,865,954 126,056,869 2,720,337 74,450,989 2,375,887 54,057,942 United States 2,111,783 79,772,792 1,105,195 36,345,463 1,623,104 37,600,736 Other Grand Total 27,780,459 735,536,543 24,058,269 96,014,100 15,522,266 255,077,273 Appendix D Ginger production Distribution (Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives) Appendix E Top Ten Ginger Producers - 2005 (Food And Agricultural Organization of United Nations) Top Ten Ginger Producers - 2005 Country Production (Int $1000) Production (MT) People's Republic of China 133,811 275,000 India 130,964 230,000 Indonesia 85,981 151,000 Nigeria 62,635 110,000 Nepal 53,525 94,000 Bangladesh 27,332 48,000 Thailand 19,360 34,000 Philippines 12,911 22,675 Cameroon 4,271 7,500 North Korea 3,399 5,970 No symbol = official figure,F = FAO estimate, * = Unofficial figure, C = Calculated figure; Production in Int $1000 have been calculated based on 1999-2001 international prices Appendix F World ginger production (FAOSTAT Database) GingerProduction(Mt) Year 1999 2000 2001 China 201,128 228,056 240,000 World 775,717 812,372 835,173 Bangladesh 38,000 38,000 42,000 Bhutan 3,100 3,100 3,100 Cameroon 7,430 7,500 7,500 Costa Rica 1,225 4,375 4,400 Dominica 100 100 100 Dominican Republic 1,500 1,500 1,500 Ethiopia 450 400 400 Fiji Islands 2,500 2,500 2,500 Ghana 60 65 65 India 270,000 275,000 275,000 Indonesia 70,100 71,900 77,500 Jamaica 620 620 620 Kenya 200 150 150 Korea, Republic of 7,950 7,950 7,950 Madagascar 30 30 30 Malaysia 2,500 2,500 2,500 Mauritius 116 498 500 Nepal 4,200 4,200 4,200 Nigeria 90,000 90,000 90,000 Pakistan 28 28 28 Philippines 28,000 29,000 29,000 Runion 900 500 500 Saint Lucia 60 60 60 Sri Lanka 8,000 8,000 8,000 Thailand 30,000 30,000 30,000 Uganda 120 120 120 United States of America 7,300 6,120 7,350 Zambia 100 100 100 Appendix G World harvesting areas of ginger (FAOSTAT Database) Ginger area harvested(Ha) Year 1999 2000 2001 China 17,750 19,170 20,700 World 310,100 319,751 321,732 Bangladesh 6,879 6,879 7,290 Bhutan 350 350 350 Cameroon 1,370 1,370 1,370 Costa Rica 110 361 361 Dominica 45 45 45 Dominican Republic 400 400 400 Ethiopia 150 150 150 Fiji Islands 65 65 65 India 80,000 80,000 80,000 Indonesia 10,200 10,600 10,600 Jamaica 180 180 180 Kenya 65 55 55 Korea, Republic of 4,255 4,255 4,255 Madagascar 8 8 8 Malaysia 1,000 1,000 1,000 Mauritius 50 170 170 Nepal 1,400 1,400 1,400 Nigeria 166,800 174,000 174,000 Pakistan 78 78 78 Philippines 4,700 5,000 5,000 Runion 30 30 30 Saint Lucia 25 25 25 Sri Lanka 2,000 2,000 2,000 Thailand 12,000 12,000 12,000 Uganda 50 50 50 United States of America 140 110 150 Read More