NGAN decries rejection of Nigeria’s ginger in international market

Nigeria’s ginger marketers have not been able to enjoy a favourable trade in the international market, with the country’s exports continually rejected in the international market despite the country’s ginger being one of the best in the world.

Gagarin Madaki, newly appointed president of the National Ginger Association of Nigeria (NGAN), disclosed this during the recent inauguration ceremony held in Kaduna.

Madaki explained that the situation was partly due to poor post-harvest handling of the commodity by Nigerian farmers. The association president also observed that Nigerian ginger is sold per bag rather than per kilogramme, leading to a constraint in income for producers and marketers.

“The farmer is cheated; the buyer is cheated. The sharp practice has to stop,” he said.

Madaki pointed out the need to adopt a new strategy to ensure Nigeria’s comparative advantage in ginger production receives a boost by way of producing and exporting quality produce, leveraging on the international best practices.

In addition, the NGAN president stressed the issues of poor post-harvest handling, use of inorganic chemicals, among others as limiting the revenue-generating potential of ginger in the international market, adding that it was also imperative to improve farmers’ productivity.

According to him, ginger is the fourth-largest priced commodity in Nigeria which makes it a good foreign exchange earner.

Highlighting some of the benefits of the commodity, he said, “It is used in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical drugs and during COVID-19, ginger value skyrocketed by about 500 percent because people know the impact it has on cold, cough and all that.”

The president, therefore, encouraged farmers to produce based on international best practices for improved benefits.