Boost for industry
Local manufacturer secures ginger export deal
LOCAL manufacturers of premium food products — Foods Pacific Ltd — have secured a huge deal with the largest ginger processor in Australia – to supply 240 tonnes of ginger paste which could also mean a boost for the local ginger industry.
Foods Pacific Ltd’s International Business senior general manager Sumukh Malankar yesterday revealed that the company had secured a buyer – Buderim Ginger – to buy ginger paste from the company.
Mr Malankar said they would be shipping the product in 24 10 tonnes containers with the first consignment of six containers packed and ready for shipment tomorrow.
According to Mr Malankar Buderim Ginger is the largest ginger processor in Australia, taking over 95 per cent (4200 tonnes) of the ginger produced for processing.
He said in Australia ginger prices were around $16-$17 per kg but that had shot up to $45-$50 a kg because of the shortage of ginger globally.
“Fiji’s ginger is one of the best around the world because it has been proven that the soil in Fiji is very appropriate for cultivating ginger,” he said.
The company had managed to accumulate the 240 tonnes of ginger over a long period of time and was able to store it at their Rokobili storage facility which had the capacity to store 7000 tonnes at any given time.
Mr Malankar said they bought fresh matured ginger from local farmers who would take their produce to the company’s factory in Wailada, Lami.
“This consignment, I believe, is also a boost for Fiji’s local ginger farming sector. We want to discuss with our buyer on making this a regular contract and buy ginger from us which means more farmers will be encouraged to plant ginger and sell to us,” he said.
Mr Malankar said 240 tonnes was a huge amount and if the contract became regular then they would need more ginger farmers to supply to them.
The company has been producing ginger and garlic paste for their Australian market but this is the first time they had received such a huge order for their garlic paste.
This order has been seen as a ray of sunshine for the company because it had not been spared from the impact of COVID-19.
Mr Malankar said last year was a bit challenging for the company but they had strategised and cut down on costs such as marketing expenses to buffer the impact.
He said the company made sure that it retained its staff members and not let anyone go and while the company lost some revenue from local sales its export revenue held up. Since the company buys raw materials from overseas for some of its products, Mr Malankar said they did face some challenges in terms of procuring the raw materials because of unpredictable shipping schedules.
However they managed to work through this challenge by stocking up on raw materials to ensure their production schedule was not affected as a result of shortage of raw materials.
He said all their products were manufactured locally and were exported to 22 developed countries, adding that they had plans to introduce new range of products in the coming future.
Mr Malankar said COVID-19 pandemic brought travel restrictions and international border restrictions which forced them to close their offices in Mumbai, India, UK and the US.
“They are closed but we hope to reopen these offices and resume business when travel restrictions are eased,” he said.