Ginger is the hot and happening commodity now. In fact, the National Multi-Commodity Exchange is mulling expansion of its futures basket and launch of trade in dried ginger and cashew.

The 'live healthy' trend catching up with the world has added to the demand for ginger. Moreover, the medicinal qualities of ginger have attracted many people to this hot commodity.

During the last decade, ginger's popularity has grown manifold with millions of people across the globe opting for alternative medicines, in which ginger plays a major role. According to ayurveda sources, there is hardly any ayurvedic potion which does not have dried ginger as an ingredient.India should take full advantage of this situation and dominate the world market if Indian farmers want to cash in on the big boom waiting to happen.

While Indian farmers go all out to make the most of global ginger demand, it will serve them good if they try to learn a few lessons from Jaimaica's sad story of ginger trade.

Till recently, in quality and quantity, Jamaican ginger was ruling the roost. However, Jamaican ginger industry is in a very sorry state now. Pests, high labour cost at least in relation to dried peeled ginger and foreign competition have already done in the ginger business in Jamaica.

Again, much to Jamaica's chagrin, recently shipments of dried ginger were rejected by several importing nations due to fungal contamination.

In fact, the sorry story of Jamaica's ginger trade began much earlier and the situation now is something which was waiting to happen.

The fame of Jamaican ginger notwithstanding, it was not an indigenous crop for the country. Ginger is one of a botanical family originating in the Indo-Malaysian region. The plant was given the scientific name Zingiber officinale in 1807.

The plant is a perennial, growing to about one metre. What is used commercially are rhizomes, or underground stems, which are reaped after about 10 months of growth, or when the foliage starts to fade off. Traditional propagation is by cutting short pieces of the rhizomes and replanting at a time when the season ensures adequate soil moisture.

It was greatly prized by the ancient Greeks and Romans, who obtained supplies from Arab traders. It was introduced to England before the Norman Conquest in 1066, and became the second most popular spice after black pepper.

At present, cultivation is done in most tropical countries, with the Indo-China region, Japan, other East Asian countries, Australia, some African and Latin American countries, and Hawaii as major producers.

In 1970s there was a resurgence of interest in the use of fresh ginger, mainly caused by the aftermath of the Vietnam War when a wave of immigrants from southeast Asia to the USA and from India, Pakistan and other countries of the region migrated to Europe and the UK, bringing with them the taste of fresh ginger. This trend was further increased by the interest of food and travel writers in international cuisine.

By 1996, America consumed 38 million pounds of ginger per annum, mostly grown in Hawaii, Indonesia, Fiji, Thailand, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador and China.

The Spanish were said to have introduced ginger to Jamaica around 1525. In 20 or so years, export was reported to be some 1.2 million kg cumulatively. Following its introduction to St Ann, the Christiana area was found to be ideal for ginger-growing and has remained the area associated with the crop.

So successful was the cultivation, and with the reputation gained for superior culinary attributes that Jamaica was listed as one of the major ginger producers in the world in early and mid 19th century. The trend continued in 20th century also.

By at least the late 19th century, America obtained almost all of its ginger from Jamaica, and hence the island was known as the land of ginger. A peak production of almost two million kg was reported for the year 1953, the figure dropped to about 0.4 million kg in 1995 and since then has dropped precipitously.

It is primarily a small farmer's crop, varying in plot size from a few square yards to more than 10 acres, often as a companion crop. An environmental disadvantage of the cultivation of ginger in the main growing areas is due to the sloping nature of the lands. While it allows rapid drainage, desirable for healthy growth, erosion is also a problem.

The increase in the export of dried ginger from Sierra Leone, India and especially Nigeria and their improvement in quality also added to Jamaican ginger's fall. Now China and Australia have become prominent players in the world trade.

The decline in quantity, quality and the rise in cost were such that in recent years the export trade in Jamaican ginger has almost become extinct.

Former buyers of Jamaican ginger have reformulated their ginger-containing products to use foreign-sourced ginger in place of the local extract, thus approximating the local flavour in quality.

With this development, the export prospects of Indian ginger are soaring. The fall of brand Jamaica in ginger trade gave the much-needed spice for the Indian ginger trade.

In the recent past, competitive prices coupled with superior quality seem to have pushed up Indian ginger exports. China is offering $1,500 a tonne, while the Indian parity is at $1,500-1,700.

The Indian production of dried ginger this year is estimated at 20,000-25,000 tonnes. Exports of ginger during April-July 2006 went up to 3,000 tonnes valued at Rs 13.55 crore (Rs 135.5 million) against 1,687 tonnes worth Rs 10.69 crore (Rs 106.9 million) in the previous year.

About 13,500 tonnes of ginger (fresh/dry) valued at Rs 15.25 crore (Rs 152.5 million) were imported during April-November this fiscal against 10,810 tonnes valued at Rs 28.52 crore (Rs 285.2 million) during the corresponding period a year ago.

The export of ginger fluctuated depending upon the crop in other major producing countries. India's major markets are West Asian and Gulf countries.

The main exporters of dried ginger are India, China and Nigeria. The latter two are the major suppliers to Europe.

In the international market, however, the demand is primarily for Cochin/Calicut ginger from India. Cochin ginger fetches a premium price in the world market because of its superior quality.

Ginger produced in the North-Eastern states has high fibre content and is exported mainly to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The world trade in ginger (excluding ginger oil and oleoresin) is estimated at $190 million, of which India's share is six per cent.

China, with about 37 per cent market share, leads the world market for ginger. However, in ginger oil and oleoresin trade, India dominates with about 50 per cent of the market.

India also now emerged as a potentially good producer and exporter of value added products of ginger like ginger oil and oleoresin. The export of ginger oleoresin from India has increased substantially during the last five years.