The Hindu Business Line : Base price for import of ginger sought

Kochi, Nov. 7 The Hill Produce Trading Community has urged the Centre to look into the problems faced by the ginger trade and its cultivation and implement minimum tariff value for imported ginger as has been done for poppy seeds.

Dry ginger trade is declining due to heavy imports from China and Nigeria. Though the Union Government has fixed 35 per cent duty, many importers are declaring lower rates than the prevailing market price published by the Spices Board Weekly Report, they said.

Under-valuation

The domestic market, which was also using Cochin ginger and Calicut ginger, had opted for importing Chinese ginger after the Centre reduced import duty from 70 per cent to 35 per cent due to pressure from WTO and liberalised import-export policy, they alleged.

Though the Chinese ginger prices were ruling slightly at a premium than Indian ginger, it is widely alleged by the farmers and small traders that the import is being done with high under-valuation in line with the prices of Nigerian and Ethiopian ginger. Thus, the importers are getting away by paying small amount of duty. As a result, the 35 per cent import duty does not carry any impact on the landed cost. The import duty, therefore, does not serve its purpose, they told Business Line.

‘Looming Threat’

Such practices have led to great revenue loss to the “country’s exchequer, apart from steering the domestic market trade for our indigenous product to the verge of extinction”, they claimed. Moreover, such high imports end up in domestic prices declining and Indian farmers neglecting ginger cultivation.

According to Kerala Hill Produce Merchants Association (KHPMA) officials, if immediate steps were not initiated to curb such unethical imports, the cultivation of ginger in Kerala will become history, like the way it happened to turmeric, which was very popular in the international market. Kerala turmeric, popularly known as Alleppey finger turmeric because of its 5 to 5.5 per cent curcumin content, was being imported by the extraction industry in these countries for many years.

Indian dry ginger, popularly known as Cochin ginger in the international spices’ industry, is well accepted world over for its low fibre content and special aroma and pungency. But major processing activity to convert raw ginger into dry ginger is taking place in Kerala due to the special skin peeling technique familiar to the workers in the State, where skilled labour is available, said Mr Anand Kishor of KHPMA.

Ginger Tariff

Recently, the traders said, Union Ministry of Commerce has introduced tariff value for imported poppy seed and arecanuts, which were being imported by heavy under-invoicing. To protect the interest of ginger farmers, the State Agricultural Department, the Commerce Ministry and the Spices Board should recommend to the Union Finance Ministry steps to introduce tariff value for imported ginger, they demanded.