Home ›› 23 Jan 2022 ›› Front
The import of ginger increased four to six times in the last two years riding on its popularity among Covid-19 patients as an alternative herbal medicine.
As the local production of the hot, fragrant spice did not increase during the period, ginger import shot up abnormally to meet the growing demand from both coronavirus patients and health conscious people, officials said.
According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) data, in Fiscal Year 2016-17 the import of ginger was 20,000 tonnes. In FY18, more than 47,000 tonnes of ginger were imported and in FY19 the amount was more than 30,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile, around 1.19 lakh tonnes of ginger were imported in FY20 and in FY21 the amount was 1.73 lakh tonnes.
The data also reveals that the ginger import was worth Tk 991 crore in FY20 and Tk 1,364 crore in FY21.
However, the home production of ginger regarded as folk medicine is on average 2 lakh tonnes in the last five years.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), the country produced 2.37 lakh tonnes of ginger in FY17 followed by 2.27 lakh tonnes in FY18, around 1.93 lakh tonnes in FY19, around 1.72 lakh tonnes in FY20 and around 2.14 lakh tonnes in FY21.
The data suggests that though consumption was high, its production did not keep pace with that.
The highest amount of ginger is produced in Rangpur region.
The DAE Deputy Director Obaidur Rahman Mondol in Rangpur said the main reason that the consumption fails to keep pace with the production is that ginger is cultivated once a year.
“If we ask the farmers to cultivate more ginger than they usually do, they have to produce it skipping the production of onion, rice or some other essential crops,” he said.
Although ginger is not very tasty, it has a lot of medicinal properties. Ginger contains Gingerol, Shogaol, Gingiberin and is rich in vitamins and minerals, and is widely used in Ayurvedic medicine.
Regular consumption of ginger helps keep the body healthy.
Doctors say the spice can help increase blood circulation, eliminating toxins and regenerating tissues harmed by diseases.
After 2019 the coronavirus fears have prompted people to consume vitamin C-type product including ginger.
Experts said ginger may help decrease inflammation, reduce sore throat and play a powerful role as an antioxidant, which may help people reduce Covid-19 infection rate.
So a large number of people in the country started consuming ginger after Covid-19 hit the country, they added.
Medicine specialist of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital Prof Md Mujibur Rahman said ginger mainly helps to digest food.
“Though there is no specific study on the issue that it helps in reducing Covid positivity rate, the element helps reduce sore throat and it is full of antioxidant,” he maintained.
A large number of people, whom The Business Post talked to, said they started consuming ginger or ginger juice after the Covid-19 broke out.
“I heard that it helps in boosting immunity. So, I try to consume it every morning and also ask my family members to do so,” Samia Jarir, a banker by profession, told this reporter.
Shwapon Biswas, a wholesaler and owner of Shwapon Traders at Mirpur-1, told this correspondent that the demand for ginger has gone high since mid-2019.
“The local variety of ginger is costlier than the indigenous one. So as the consumption went high, so was the sale,” according to the trader.
