The Brazilian ginger production from the Espírito Santo province is winding down as the production from Sao Paolo starts up. Brazilian exporter Fresh Quality is expecting the first container of product from the Sao Paolo region to arrive in the US next week, which will be the first shipment that the company receives at their new US office.
New offices in the US and Europe
Fresh Quality opened their first US office this year, which is located in Pennsylvania. “From this office, we will distribute our products through Canada and the US. Ginger is our most important product, and our first arrivals from Sao Paolo will start next week. Our business model for the new office is to sell small quantities directly to our customers, and to familiarize the North American market with the ‘Paulista ginger,’ which is what we call the ginger from Sao Paolo. This ginger is a bit different from that coming out of Espírito Santo, and is more comparable to the Chinese ginger,” says Gabriel Bonancin, COO of Fresh Quality.
The business model that the company has launched in the US will also be brought to Europe in the near future. “We are opening an office in Portugal in January. Here, too, ginger will be the main product, and we’ll sell it in small quantities to our customers rather than in enormous bulk volumes,” Gideao Guilherme, Bonancin’s partner in the company, adds. While ginger will be the focus for now, Fresh Quality will also bring in their other products through their new offices: “the Brazilian sweet potatoes – which are called yams in the US, but sweet potatoes in Europe – will also become a focus for us in the near future. Guavas will also be available for the European market, which actually came as a surprise to us as we hadn’t expected to see as high of a demand for guavas as we do,” explains Guilherme.
High prices for ginger in the world market
The pandemic has made for an unconventional year for the ginger market. “There was a gap in the supply from China, and they are usually the biggest supplier of ginger, so this has brought a lot of opportunities for other ginger supplying countries such as Brazil. It looks like China won’t start with their mature ginger until January, and with the Espírito Santo production wrapping up now, it’s perfect timing for the Sao Paolo volumes to arrive,” says Bonancin.
In addition to China’s supplies being affected, the supplies shipped by Brazil so far this year were lower than usual too, according to Guilherme. “At the start of the pandemic, growers shipped a lot of young ginger to fulfill demand, and this affected the overall production volumes. Then, because of the high prices in the market, many growers decided to plant more ginger for next year, so they allocated a larger part of their overall yield for new plantings, meaning less volume was available for shipments,” he says.
The lower overall supplies in the world market has driven up the prices, but this has also caused some challenges for the producers and exporters. “Because the prices are so high, the risk is higher too. Many buyers are wary of buying ginger at such high costs, especially because of the fear of new lockdowns possibly affecting demand,” Guilherme concludes.
For more information:
Gideão Guilherme (CEO & sales manager)
Fresh Quality
Tel: +55 16 98850 6163
US office: +1 (267) 470-1221
Email: [email protected]
www.freshquality.com.br