Ginger price has hit an all-time high of Tk 250 per kg in the domestic market due mainly to its global price spike and decline in local production, traders and officials said on Wednesday.
Retail prices of imported ginger ranged between Tk 240-250 per kg while those of local variety was being sold at Tk180-220 per kg, according to a review of the city's major kitchen markets.
Traders attributed the hike to increase in global ginger price in the top exporting nations such as China, India, Nepal, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
"Local ginger variety is selling at Tk 170-175 per kg at the wholesale in Karwan Bazar, which was Tk160-165 just two days back," a retailer at Azimpur area said.
He said imported Chinese variety was scarce and was being sold at Tk200-220 per kg at the wholesale level.
The Chinese variety was retailing at Tk 240-250, he added.
Hazi Habibullah Bahar, an importer at Nowabganjbazar in the city, told the FE that the price of Chinese variety is normally hovers between $450-$1000 per tonne, which is now more than $1,500 per tonne.
He said the import has almost been halted for last two months, which is responsible for the hike in the local market.
"Chinese consumers themselves are paying $3.0 to $3.5 for per kg ginger," he said.
An importer at Parbatipur under Dinajpur district told the FE over phone that ginger price is now all time high in India.
He said Indian importers are now demanding $2500-$2800 per tonne ginger while the Nepalese variety also increased to $2300-$2500.
"It will not be cost effective for us to import the spice at that rate," he admitted.
He said: "We've been told by our exporter in India that the price may reduce with the beginning of harvest in Karnataka state."
Meanwhile, ginger production in the country has been gradually declining while import cost for the spice item soared to nearly Tk 4.8 billion in the last financial year, official sources said.
Experts said price debacle during harvest, increasing cost of inputs and lack of government initiatives are forcing farmers to spurn ginger cultivation.
"The country produced 74,380 tonnes of ginger on 9,120 hectares in financial year 201, which has come down to 69,508 tonnes at 8,900 hectares in 2013 fiscal," Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Agriculture Wing deputy director Bidhan Baral told the FE.
He said, "The bureau has finalised the data recently which showed production of the produce has been decreasing gradually. Output was 72,084 tonnes in FY'12 on 8,407 hectares of land."
"Ginger lands are reducing as farmers are shifting to other crops," he said.
The country's annual demand for ginger is now nearly 0.15 million tonnes, of which only 0.07 million tonnes are met from domestic sources, the state-run Directorate General of Food data showed.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), this year production target has been set at 70,000 tonnes from 9,000 hectares.
The data revealed by Bangladesh Bank (BB) and Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) said import of ginger soared to around 80,000 tonnes--or Tk 4.8 billion--in 2013 fiscal.
However, import was 53,000 tonnes worth Tk 2.65 billion in FY'10, the BB data showed.
Bangladesh imports ginger mainly from China, India and Nepal, top three producers in the world.
Agriculture expert Dr M A Sobhan told the FE that Bangladesh's main ginger growing districts are Nilphamari, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Khagrachari, Mymensingh and Rangamati.
"Nilphamari once produced 60 per cent of the total demand as more than 5,000 hectares of land was under ginger cultivation there. The acreage has now reduced to only 1,000 hectares only," he said.
"Years of price deprivation have forced farmers to shift to other crops," he said.
"Ginger takes at least six months to give yield. Farmers can get two crops during this period, which is also responsible for the reduction in ginger acreage," he pointed out.
He said Bangladesh is at disadvantageous position compared with countries like China, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Nepal because of low productivity and high labour cost,
Ginger production is also gradually shifting to the hilly areas of the country from the plain land.
The Department of Agriculture Extension said Rangamati district has emerged as top ginger producer with 1,457 hectares of land, followed by Nilphamari, where 1,052 hectares of land is under ginger cultivation.
The UN's FAO said Bangladesh is now the seventh largest ginger producer in the world and third largest consumer.
