How To Start The Lucrative Export Of Ginger From Nigeria To International Buyers

In the year 2017, around three million metric tons of ginger was produced worldwide. This figure was a great improvement from the volume grown in 2010 when the global ginger production rate amounted to a volume of about 1.72 million metric tons. And the volume of ginger produced globally yearly has only continued to rise, along with the global ginger consumption rate crossing $5.6 billion US dollars

Nigeria is one of the largest producers of ginger in the world. In 2017, the total volume of ginger harvested in Kaduna State in Nigeria alone was over 724,000 metric tonnes. And this figure does not account for the other ginger producing states like Nasarawa, Gombe, Benue, Sokoto, Bauchi, and others who also produce ginger in the country.

The abundance and large production volumes of the ginger crop in Nigeria makes it a lucrative business for ginger exporters in Nigeria to venture into since there are widespread international buyers of ginger, especially sun-dried split ginger around the world, and sun-dried split ginger exporters in Nigeria can find a market to consistently export their products to.

If you’re looking to become one of the most successful sun-dried split ginger exporters in Nigeria or are an international buyer looking for how to buy fresh or sun-dried split ginger in Nigeria from ginger suppliers in Nigeria without losing your money, you should read on.

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First, What Is Ginger?

Ginger is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root, or simply ginger, is widely used as a spice or medicine. It is usually harvested as fresh ginger and then can be processed and exported as either ginger powder, sun-dried split ginger or fresh ginger to international buyers around the world.

So What Is Ginger Export About?

Ginger export is the export of fresh ginger, ginger powder, and sun-dried split Ginger from Nigeria to international buyers located in various parts of the world. It is mostly exported semi-processed and further processed upon arrival at the buyer’s facility for its intended uses.

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General Facts About Ginger Export From Nigeria

• Ginger is majorly grown in the Northern regions of the country, especially Kaduna. While Gombe, Bauchi, Benue, Nassarawa and some others are smaller producers of the crop.
• Kaduna state is the largest ginger producing state in Nigeria with over 724,000 metric tonnes of ginger produced in 2017 in the state alone.
• Growing Ginger can create a great source of employment.
• Ginger is exported as fresh ginger, ginger powder, and sun-dried split ginger.
• Nigeria is the second-largest producer of ginger in the world.
• Nigeria is the third-largest exporter of ginger after China and India.
• According to the United Nations Food And Agricultural Organisation, Nigeria’s ginger is regarded as the best in the world
• Ginger can be used as spice or medicine.
• The profit margins on the sale of Ginger to international buyers can be anywhere from 20% to 45% depending on if you’re the farmer or are purchasing from the farms.
• As a broker, you can venture into this business with $0.

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Key Facts Every Export Must Know about Ginger Before Exporting It

1. The longer it takes ginger to dry and the lower the drying temperature, the better the chemical qualities of the ginger
2. Drying ginger under sunlight is the best way to retain most of its chemical qualities
3. Mechanical drying of ginger reduces a lot of its chemical properties
4. Among drying methods, sun dried and solar tunnel dried ginger rhizomes can retain the maximum essential oil content than mechanical tray dried rhizomes.
5. Unpeeled ginger dried at 65°C has not been found good.
6. India is the largest producer and exporter of ginger to more than fifty countries, particularly to middle east, accounting for more than 70% of the world production.
7. Nigeria is the largest producer of ginger in Africa and one of the largest producers in the world
8. Unless the ginger is sliced fairly thin, its dehydration is essentially a slow process.
9. On average, fresh ginger has a moisture content of 82-86%
10. Drying of whole ginger rhizomes under sun takes 9 days and 8 days by a solar tunnel
11. Significant reduction in essential oil and oleoresin content of dry ginger happens as the slice length decreases from 50mm
12. Important constituents of ginger’s essential oil like zingiberene, limonene, linalool, geraniol and nerolidol decreases during slicing and as the drying temperature increases from 50, 55, 60 and 65 °C.
13. Gingerols and Shogoals are pungency contents of oleoresin in ginger
14. The oleoresin content of ginger decreases upon ginger slicing and with the increase in the drying temperature
15. Whole ginger rhizomes dried under sun drying or in a solar tunnel drier retains the maximum essential oil (13.9 mg/g) and oleoresin content (45.2 mg/g) of dry ginger.
16. In mechanical drying of ginger, the drying temperature of 50-60 °C is considered optimum, however there is about 12.2 % loss in essential oil and 5.3 % oleoresin when dried at this temperature.
17. The most important quality parameters of ginger are its fibre content, volatile oil content and non volatile ether extract
18. Some areas grow ginger yielding very large rhizomes, which are marketed as fresh ginger, but unsuitable for converting to the dried spice due to their high moisture content.
19. Ginger when used as vegetable is harvested from sixth month onwards while for preparing dry ginger, the produce is harvested after eight months of planting when the leaves of the plant turn yellow and starts drying.
20. If you cultivate ginger in a hydroponic farming system, you can harvest fully grown rhizomes in 4 months
21. Harvested fresh ginger is peeled to remove the outer skin before it is sliced and dried
22. Fresh ginger is sliced to accelerate the drying process
23. Deep scraping fresh ginger with knifes need to be avoided to prevent the damage of oil bearing cells which are present just below the outer skin.
24. Dried ginger is available in different forms like the whole dried ginger, splits or slices
25. The time taken for drying ginger at temperatures of 50, 55, 60 and 65 °C is 8, 8, 7 and 6 days, respectively
26. Slice thickness and drying methods have significant effects on the essential oil content of dried ginger.
27. Drying of ginger usually leads to loss of volatile oil by evaporation and this loss can sometimes be as high as 20 % during sun drying
28. The extent of cleaning ginger rhizomes prior to drying has a considerable influence on the volatile oil and the fibre content of the end product.
29. The removal of ginger skin not only reduces the fibre content but also enhances the volatile oil loss through rupture of oil bearing cells, which are present near the skin.
30. The essential oil content of major types of dry ginger is usually in the range of 1–3 %.
31. Drying whole or minimum 50 mm long ginger slice under open sun drying or in a solar tunnel drier gives the best chemical retention rates
32. Gingerol, the major pungent component of ginger oleoresin, is found to reduce significantly on slicing when compared to whole dry ginger.
33. The gingerols content of oleoresin in ginger is can be between 17.7–19.3 %
34. When gingerols are prone to dehydration, transformation of gingerols to corresponding, less pungent shogaols are formed.
35. The quality of dry ginger for commercial purposes is generally evaluated based on two important parameters, the essential oil and the oleoresin content.
36. Ginger when dried under sun drying and solar tunnel drier has the maximum retention of essential oil (13.9 mg/g of dry ginger)
37. Slicing significantly reduces the essential oil content of ginger and reduction is significant even when ginger is sliced to a length of 50 mm or below. The more the slice length, the better.
38. Below 20 mm length of ginger slice, the loss in essential oil content is very high.
39. The oleoresin content of 50 mm long ginger is usually at par with the oleoresin content of whole dry rhizomes. However, the reduction in oleoresin content of ginger for slice lengths less than 50 mm is significant.
40. It can be concluded from drying studies that whole ginger dried under sun drying or in solar tunnel drier or in case of mechanical drier, drying temperature of 60 °C could be adopted to produce quality dried ginger.
41. Mechanical drying of ginger rhizomes at 60 °C can retain to a great extent the chemical quality of the ginger, and the drying time is 7 days. But the quality is not as high as sun drying or solar tunnel drying
42. Drying studies of ginger rhizomes sliced to various lengths of 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mm and dried by various drying methods like sun drying, solar tunnel drying and cabinet drying at temperatures of 50, 55, 60 and 65 °C indicates that slicing (at 5mm) significantly reduces the drying time (to 4 days) as compared to drying whole rhizomes (at 9 days) under sun.
43. In mechanical drying of ginger, the increase in temperature from 50 to 65 °C reduces the drying time from 9 to 6 days for drying whole rhizomes.
44. Non volatile constituents of dry ginger like total gingerols and total shogoals decreases as the sliced length reduces.
45. Sun drying and solar tunnel drying retains the maximum essential oil content (13.9 mg/g of dry ginger) and oleoresin content (45.2 mg/g of dry ginger) of ginger.
46. The yield of oleoresin from commercially dried ginger is in the range of 3.5–10 %
47. Sliced or whole ginger goes bad and becomes mouldy if not properly dried

Types Of Ginger Exported In Nigeria

1). Sun-Dried Split Ginger:

Sun-dried split ginger is the most exported type of ginger from Nigeria. They’re usually dried to boost the shelf life so it can be exported to any country around the world on a long voyage and for further storage. As a result, sun-dried split ginger exporters in Nigeria are the most common ginger exporters found in Nigeria.

2). Fresh Ginger:

Fresh ginger is far less exported in Nigeria than sun-dried split ginger. Because of its short shelf life, fresh ginger needs to be shipped as soon as it is harvested, else, it would have to be dried before export.

3). Ginger Powder:

Ginger powder is also exported from Nigeria after processing fresh ginger.

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Business Opportunities In The Ginger business

1). Ginger Export:

Fresh ginger or dry split ginger is usually sold at varying amounts at the farm areas or local markets and are then resold to international buyers at varying prices per metric tonne depending on the specification and other factors. Dried split ginger exporters in Nigeria usually have a strong connection to enable them to buy ginger at the lowest possible price, and as a result, they’re able to help most international buyers of ginger get the products they need.

2). Ginger Brokerage:

When you have little to no capital to venture into a particular type of business, the best bet is to first start by brokering the sales of the products and services. And in this case, you can broker the sales of ginger for dry split ginger exporters in Nigeria to international buyers of ginger.

You could venture into the Ginger brokerage business by linking a buyer to a ginger seller, and in the process, add a markup price per metric tonne for your organisation, after getting the final selling price from the seller or get a standard commission from the ginger supplier.

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Setting Up Your Ginger Export Business

1). Register Your Export Business:

The first step to starting a Ginger export business is to register a legal business. To do this, you must first register a limited liability company with the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria, then go on to register your business with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council and any local associations regulating the purchase and sale of Ginger.

Registered business names are not allowed to register with the NEPC, and so, you can only function as an exporter with a Limited Liability Company registered under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

See Also: 10+ Legal Requirements For An Import And Export Business in Nigeria

2). Find Direct Farms and Sources For Exports:

Although this can be done before, during, or after your company has been registered with the appropriate bodies, the next step is to source for the direct farms that would be growing the Ginger for you on behalf of your clients or to find the best buying centres to purchase from.

Successful fresh ginger or sun-dried split ginger exporters in Nigeria usually have direct access to the farmers or buying centres so they can get the best possible price. Going through a proxy would waste more time, cost more money, and reduce your profit margins.

3). Setup A Proper Business Structure, Trade Process, & Branding:

During or after registering and securing your buyers, it is important you set up a proper business structure that looks internationally reputable. Some ways successful sun-dried split ginger exporters in Nigeria do this to do this are to build an international standard website, get a business address, create a company profile, and also have a corporate offer format you can customize and send to buyers who request an offer. Also set up a corporate email that reads something like this: “[email protected]”.

If renting an office is too expensive, you could pay for a virtual office at a co-working hub and use their address for meetings.

When fresh ginger or sun-dried split ginger exporters in Nigeria organise their companies this way, buyers would feel really confident about doing business with them and would tend to choose their businesses as their preferred partner.

4). Source For Buyers:

The next step is to source for international buyers for your fresh ginger or sun-dried split ginger. Successful sun-dried split ginger exporters in Nigeria do this by registering on websites like:

• www.exportersindia.com
• www.alibaba.com
• www.linkedin.com

And several others.

You can also build an influential social media account on LinkedIn and market your Ginger to a unique business audience you’d build over time.

See Also: How To Find International Buyers For Your Import/Export Business

5). Export Your Products:

Upon sealing agreements with the buyers, getting issued an Irrevocable Corporate Purchase Order, signing a Sales and Purchasing agreement, and more, you can then proceed to ship the fresh ginger or dried split Ginger to the international ginger buyer.

The shipment could be done on either Free On Board (FOB) or Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) basis. Where FOB means you cover the cost of the goods and every other thing till its arrival at the shipping point, and CIF means that you cover the cost of everything including insurance and transporting the goods to the buyer’s port of destination.

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Challenges Of The Ginger Export Business

1). Lack of experience causes fresh ginger or sun-dried split ginger exporters to either purchase the wrong specifications, underprice or overprice their products, and much more.

2). Your fresh ginger or dried split ginger en route a warehouse may get robbed or seized by government officials before arrival.

3). Fake ginger buyers wasting exporters time with fake inquiries.

4). Most prospective entrepreneurs have little to no access to finance their projects.

5). Most fresh ginger or dried split ginger sellers have poorly managed supply chains and may sometimes be unable to deliver.

6). Your time could be wasted as a result of long-term conversations with Ginger buyers who have no real money to pay.

7). The large pool of fraudsters posing as fresh ginger or dried split ginger sellers makes it difficult for Ginger buyers to trust you.

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Conclusion

The fresh or dried split Ginger export business is a lucrative one for anyone who chooses to venture into the export of agricultural products from Nigeria. Depending on the quantity the buyer needs, your profit margins could be far higher or lower, but still substantial.

Starting an agricultural export business in Nigeria with an initial focus on fresh or dried split Ginger is a way to not just only get into the industry, but a great start to building a long-term business that could someday employ thousands of people directly and indirectly.

An Important Point

Trying to buy Ginger from Nigeria through genuine fresh ginger or sun-dried split ginger exporters can lead to a lot of wasted time and efforts on the part of the Ginger buyers. They spend a lot of time vetting sellers in Nigeria, doubting their results even if positive, and going back and forth too many times than they can count, only to end up either cancelling their decision to buy or making a purchase after months or years have passed.

Finding real fresh or dried split Ginger exporters in Nigeria can be a problem. To make this possible for Ginger buyers, Startup Tips Daily Media, through her sister company, Globexia, can export Ginger to genuine buyers from Nigeria or anywhere in the world.

Whatever will help buyers close genuine fresh or dried split Ginger export-based transactions fast, transparently, and easier, we can make the process as stress-free as possible.

Our Ginger export business is completely transparent, and as a result, we will not deal with a buyer who intends to cut corners or outsmart any party in the course of the transaction.

If you’re a genuine Ginger buyer, you can reach out to us through the contact form below. If you’d like us also to help you export most of your Ginger, we’d be glad to do so with mutually agreed terms.

In addition to our Ginger export business in Nigeria, we’re also Cashew Nuts Exporters in Nigeria, and can export Cashew nuts to buyers around the world.

If you’re only a scam, don’t waste your time, as the conversation wouldn’t last too long after a few questions and demands to prove your authenticity have been made from our end.

Our Ginger Trade Specifications are listed below:

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.

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