Covid hype around ginger in South Africa has cooled, now oversupply
Whole Ginger
South Africa
Published Sep 23, 2021
Tridge summary
The ginger market flourished last year as people sought out foods to boost their defenses against Covid-19. However, the demand for ginger is back to pre-pandemic levels, or even weaker, as looting in KwaZulu-Natal has hit the ginger demand in this province hard.
Original content
Hans Schroeder, head of production (macadamias, avocados and ginger) at Macview in Kiepersol, Mpumalanga, says that after the outbreak of Covid there was a shortage of ginger. The prices were very good then. This year, however, there is oversupply and weak demand. In May, Macview announced that it did not expect a repeat of last season. "In the end, ginger turned out not to be the panacea after all and the hype cooled down," notes Ruan van der Westhuizen, head of finance and marketing at Macview. The demand for ginger is back to old levels and the hype has not brought many new ginger consumers. Ruan does point out that households have started to consume more ginger in the past decade. This fits in with the trend for low-carbohydrate, healthy food. He says the number of ginger growers has doubled in the past decade, most of them planting the crop periodically. Photos: Macview Looting in KwaZulu-Natal curbs demand for gingerThe Durban market has traditionally been an important ...
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