Chinese ginger harvest ruined by floods
Danny Deen: “Already major price hikes”
The Chinese province of Shandong was hammered by storms and floods last weekend. The worst hit were the ginger growing regions like Weifang and Anqiu. These adverse weather conditions severely damaged ginger supplies.
“Ginger is traditionally stored underground. However, the excess water flooded these storage cellars. The ginger being stored was destroyed. It is a big problem for the storekeepers as well as exporters. Not only the storage facilities but various packing plants have been damaged. It is currently not possible to wash, sort, or export the ginger”, says importer, Danny Deen of the Dutch company, Denimpex.
“China had a large ginger harvest and were not sure if they would be able to sell everything. This natural disaster has, however, shrunk the supply tremendously. The percentage of damage we are talking about is currently still unclear. Percentages of 30-40% are, however, already being reported”, says Danny. “Ginger exports to Europe have been slow over the last two months. This was due to the weather conditions. Traditionally, in Europe, ginger consumption is lower in the summer.
“We are seeing signs of a substantial price increase in Europe. This is also the case with packages and exporters in China. The packers and exporters who were, not at all, or barely affected have pushed up their prices compared to the last weeks. We experienced the same thing three years ago. Then, there was also a huge shortage due to weather conditions”, the importer concluded.
Publication date: 8/22/2018
Author: Melinda Walraven
Copyright: www.freshplaza.com