Opinion

Organic Ginger from Nigeria Is Ready to Expand to New Markets

Whole Ginger
Nigeria
Published Jan 14, 2020
Nigeria is a major producer of ginger and is now ready to export organic ginger as well. Ginger is seen as a model export commodity by many Nigerian farmers and production is growing rapidly as a result.

When thinking of ginger, many people automatically think of India and China, the two powerhouses of ginger production and consumption. However, what many do not know is that the 3rd largest producer of ginger is located in Africa: Nigeria yearly produces around 300K tons of ginger, and both production and export are growing rapidly. India and China are by far the largest suppliers, but cannot meet the current demand for ginger, creating a gap in the market that Nigeria is able to fill. Farms such as Farmcrowdy Limited are working hard to improve the Nigerian ginger market up to international standards.

Ginger as a Model Export for Nigeria

Nigerian ginger has huge export potential and is thus seen as one of the unique and model export commodities for Nigeria. Of the local production, only 5% is consumed locally and the rest is destined for processing and export. Nigerian ginger is generally of high quality with a strong, unique aroma. The average crude fiber content is around 4.02%. Ginger’s medicinal properties are increasingly recognized by consumers, leading to an explosive demand, which makes the prices interesting for farmers as well.

In response, many Nigerian farmers have increased their acreage and production. Although it is very hard to find official data, Farmcrowdy estimates that acreage has increased by approximately 20% during the last 2 years. In 2018, production results were slightly lower due to low international prices, but production in 2019 normalized again.

Enhancing Quality Standards for Sundried Ginger

The peak harvesting season for ginger is around November, after which the ginger is sundried according to traditional methods. But, traditionally sundried ginger is hard to sell to international buyers due to a lack of unified sanitation practices during the drying process. As such, traders and brokers, the main buyers of ginger in Nigeria, clean the ginger again after purchasing. They check the ginger for impurities, as well as process it further before exporting it.

Farmcrowdy wants to make sure that traditionally sundried ginger is up to international sanitation and purity standards. As such, they uphold high sanitation standards on their own farms, as well as teach partnered smallholder farmers proper sanitation and processing methods. They also help smallholder farmers by connecting them to sponsors, making more capital and knowledge available to them.

Most farmers in Nigeria naturally and traditionally adhere to organic production standards: they are cautious with their water usage, do not use chemicals and pesticides, and take care of the environment during the production process. However, as obtaining organic certification is costly and unobtainable for many smallholder farmers, there has been no certified organic ginger exported from Nigeria as of yet. Farmcrowdy is planning to change that, as it is currently the first company certified by Ecocert for organic operations for ginger which meets international standards.

High Availability, but Complicated Market in Nigeria

There is a huge availability of ginger in Nigeria. Farmcrowdy explains that not all of this ginger is marketed when available, but that a lot of it is kept in storage, usually in the houses of farmers, until they need the money. On the largest market for ginger, Kubacha market, more than 25 trucks of ginger, around 750 tons, are sold every Sunday and Monday. This is only 20% of the total availability. The Nigerian local market for ginger is not seasonal at all but rather depends on price levels. As a result, the price fluctuates often. Currently, the price for the highest grade of ginger is around USD 1.2K per ton.

This high availability of ginger shows that Nigeria has the capacity to become a leading ginger exporter. Its close proximity to Europe and the Middle East make the country an interesting sourcing option. Although the ginger industry still has a few barriers to overcome, in particular relating to quality standards, initiatives like Farmcrowdy’s are propelling the Nigerian ginger industry into the global market. 

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