Thursday, November 28, 2013
Nepal's ginger farmers at India's mercy
DHARAN, Nov 27: The price of ginger in eastern Nepal heavily depends on India, which is the largest market for the farmers.
“When India has lean production of ginger, the demand of Nepali ginger rises and the price goes down if the demand in India slides,” Binod Kulung, a Dharan-based farmer says.
According to him, Nepali gingers are sold at Rs 60 per kg in India when the demand is high. On the other hand, gingers don´t even fetch Rs 5 per kg in the local market once the demand falls in India.
Traders say that more than 90 percent of gingers produced in eastern Nepal are targeted to the Indian markets. “If the demand goes down in India gingers are left to decay in Nepal,” Kulung says. “Nepali market is just too small.”
Illam, Dhankuta, Sunsari, Sanksuwa, Udyapur and Khotang are among districts with high production of ginger in Nepal.
Complaining that though Nepal produces a large amount of gingers it has not been able to explore wider market, the farmers have urged the government to create favorable market for ginger.
“We should not just be depending on the Indian market, the government should explore market elsewhere, too,” farmers say.
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