Promoting Ginger Oleoresin Production in Nigeria for Economic Growth and Sustainable Supply to User Industries

Nigeria ranks 2 nd amongst top 10 ginger producers in the world with a production of 691,239 tonnes and its ginger is among the best, with its aroma, pungency and high oil and oleoresin content as distinct features. The most important form of ginger commercially is the dried form because it can be further processed in the industry to ginger powder, ginger oil and ginger oleoresin. There is an increasing international demand for ginger oleoresins, especially for the production of alcoholic beverages, ginger ale and gingerbread. The global ginger oil market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.41 % from 2020 to 2025 to reach a total market size of US$189.431 million by 2025, increasing from US$110.435 million. Nigeria, with the volume of ginger production and distinctive features of its ginger, should tap into this market demand. However, ginger is exported from Nigeria in the split-dried form while value-added products such as ginger powder, essential oils and oleoresin are imported at high cost. According to the Nigeria Customs Service data, 700,891 kg of resinoids and mixtures of odoriferous substances were imported to Nigeria from 2016 to 2019 at a value of ₦1.24 billion. To take advantage of the ever expanding global oleoresin market, formation of farmers clusters/cooperatives, development of farmers-processors linkages, quality assurance through Good Agricultural Practices, technology development, Public-Private Partnerships, development of Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS) for oleoresins and import restrictions on ginger oleoresin are recommended. There is need for synergy amongst government agencies to harmonize and integrate various development plans and strategies for ginger value chain. proper coordination is also recommended to harmonize all the activities in the sector for greater impact.