GINGERS

The list of ginger uses is almost endless, being a pungent spicy herb and one of the more popular food spices. They range from baked products like gingerbread, ginger biscuits, ginger cookies to drinks like ginger tea, ginger beer, ginger ale, etc.
While a number of Nigerians have restricted its uses to these two aspects, some others have gone into its cultivation and acquisition for the purpose of export.
Nigeria produces an average of 40,000 metric tonnes of fresh weight ginger per annum. Out of this production, an average of 10 per cent is locally consumed as fresh ginger, while 90 per cent is dried and 20 per cent of this is consumed locally for various uses while the remaining is exported.
According to the World Trade Promotion Export/Import Limited, Nigerian ginger is highly valued in international markets for its aroma, pungency and high oil and oleoresin content. Ginger has various uses depending on the state of processing and purpose. Ginger oil and oleoresin are extracted from dried ginger.