Farmers begin shelving Cochin ginger cultivation

Tag : ginger
Agri-Biz & Commodities - Spices & Condiments
Farmers begin shelving Cochin ginger cultivation
G.K. Nair
Kochi, Aug 20 Non-remunerative price consequent to increasedimports is leading to the gradual disappearance of cultivation ofthe well known high quality ‘Cochin ginger’ that ispopular in the international spice market.
Cochin ginger is considered as one of the best in the world marketbecause of “its characteristic lemon like flavour” andthe absence of fibre content, export sources told Business Line . Hence, the demand is primarily for Kochi/Kozhikode ginger. Cochinginger usually trades at a premium, they added.
This unique variety having low fibre content, special aroma, andpungency is mainly grown in Kerala and the bordering states. Theprice has now gone up almost three-fold due to short supply in thecountry of export quality ginger as farmers have abandoned itscultivation due to price uncertainty and increase in imports.
Ginger exports fell sharply during the first quarter of the currentfiscal to 1,050 tonnes valued at Rs 7.43 crore at a unit value ofRs 70.71 a kg against 3,410 tonnes worth Rs 9.28 crore at the unitvalue of Rs 27.21 a kg.
According to industry sources, processing of raw ginger to convertit into dry ginger has also been taking place in Kerala fordecades. Apart from this variety, a high oil content ginger is alsogrown in the high ranges in the State’s Idukki district,popularly known as ‘ Ellakalan ’, cultivated in and around Rajkumari, Kunjithanni areas.However, ever since the extraction units in the country, which weremainly consuming this high oil content variety, had switched overto import of low oil content but cheap Nigerian/Ethiopian ginger,cultivation of Ellakalan has slowly vanished, they said.
The domestic market which was also using good quantities of Cochinginger as well as Calicut ginger had opted for importing ChineseGinger following the halving of import duty to 35 per cent by theUnion Government.
Though the Chinese ginger prices are ruling slightly at premiumthan Indian ginger, growers allege that the small traders areimporting it with high under valuation in line with the prices ofNigerian and Ethiopian Ginger.
Given the above scenario, the farmers and the small traders haveurged the State Government and the Union Commerce Ministry tointervene in the matter by introducing tariff value for importedginger lest those unscrupulous importers will dump the Chineseginger in the Indian domestic market by evading import duty throughheavy under invoicing, harming the interest of indigenous growersand small dealers, who are likely to vanish from the scenario.
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