A women’s cooperative in Palpa, western Nepal, has exported eight tonnes of unprocessed ginger to Europe. While the demand there for the Nepali spice has reached 20 tonnes, this marks a significant step forward for ginger export, which previously relied on the Indian market.

Farmers report that raw ginger, particularly the ‘Bose’ variety, has gained substantial demand in overseas markets.

AQysta Nepal Pvt Ltd, a company that facilitates ginger exports to Europe, has supported this initiative in collaboration with the Galda Social Entrepreneurial Women’s Cooperative in Nisdhi Municipality-5, Palpa. The cooperative had cultivated ginger on 42 ropanis of land.

Dilmaya Thapa, the cooperative manager, explained that while the demand was high, they could not meet it due to lower-than-expected production. “After leasing land, we planted another ginger variety, but it was unsuccessful.”

“Later, we brought ‘Bose’ ginger seeds from Sindhuli, Ramechhap, and other places. Since this variety is suitable for juice production, our output has exceeded expectations, but we still couldn't meet the export demand due to a small area of cultivation,” Thapa said.

The cooperative planted ginger in several areas, including Banglang, Gejha, Mudhabhanjyang, Tamasgiri, and Bahapur, with support from women's groups in the Galda region.

The total cost of renting the land amounted to around Rs103,000. While the cooperative planned to export 20 tonnes of raw ginger this year, they could only send eight.

Farmers also noted that the production of another variety, ‘Nese,’ has been strong.

As many as 272 farmers are part of the cooperative, which purchases organic-certified ginger for export. The women of Galda have been collecting and processing ginger for four years, with support from the federal, provincial, and local governments and various organisations.

The cooperative currently has 533 members.

In addition to raw ginger, the cooperative is preparing to export 12 tonnes of dried ginger chips to Europe this year. To achieve this, over 60 tonnes of ginger must be processed into chips and dried, as cooperative member Narayani Dungana explained.

The cooperative’s ginger processing unit has been successfully exporting dried ginger chips to Europe for the past three years.

This year, AQysta Nepal has signed a contract to export 12 tonnes of Nese variety ginger chips. “If we have enough ginger available, we can meet the demand for up to 15 tonnes of dried ginger chips,” said Thapa.

However, the cooperative is uncertain whether they can reach the volume.

Last year, the cooperative exported 4.46 tonnes of ginger chips to Europe, mostly Germany. Two years ago, they sent 805 kilograms of organic-certified ginger for testing in Europe.

AQysta Nepal has provided technical support for collection, processing, and transportation, offering training on washing and packing ginger. The cooperative has also received support from government and non-government organisations for equipment to wash, peel, dry, grind, and package ginger.

These efforts aim to help women grow ginger as a cash crop and achieve financial independence.

With assistance from Heifer Nepal, the cooperative successfully exported organic ginger abroad two years ago and is now working to certify ginger from nearby areas for organic export.

In addition to exporting ginger, women in the cooperative also produce ginger powder. Previously, local traders bought ginger produced in Nisdhi and sold it primarily in Butwal, Bhairahawa, and Kathmandu, with occasional sales in neighbouring India.

In the years when production is good, local markets in India couldn’t absorb the surplus, forcing some ginger to go to waste. However, prices would rise in the years of poor production, making the market volatile.

Last year, the cooperative purchased 39.88 tonnes of ginger for Rs3.97 million and sold it for Rs4.76 million.

According to the Agricultural Knowledge Center, ginger is cultivated on 280 hectares in the area, while it is grown on 1,260 hectares in total, producing more than 13,000 tonnes annually.

In 2023, Nepal exported $12.1 million worth of ginger. The country was ranked 12th largest ginger exporter in the world.

The same year, ginger was Nepal’s 25th biggest export. The top destinations for Nepali ginger exports are India ($10.9 million), Germany ($1.08 million), Spain ($668,000), and Myanmar ($102,000).

Despite the positive figures, Nepal has struggled to export its ginger to other countries due to limited knowledge of its physical and biochemical properties.

Reports suggest that the spice has a great potential in the global market if improvements are made in yield, quality, and volume through investment in research and development.

Even without significant quality improvements, small trading hubs in India will likely remain major markets for Nepali ginger.