Agribusiness entrepreneur and founder of Ideal Providence Farms, Georgina Koomson, has warned consumers to brace for sustained increases in ginger prices, attributing the trend to prolonged disease outbreaks that have severely affected production levels.

Speaking on The Super Morning Show, Ms. Koomson explained that many ginger farmers have suffered significant losses as diseases ravaged their farms, leading to reduced output.

“The ginger producers had a lot of diseases. So it affected the production,” she said.

According to her, the decline in supply comes at a time when demand for ginger continues to rise, particularly from companies in the herbal beverage industry that rely heavily on the crop as a key ingredient.

“We also have a lot of ginger companies doing herbal drinks using ginger. So there is demand as well. The demand has gone up,” she noted.

The combination of shrinking production and growing demand has pushed ginger prices upward, a situation she believes is unlikely to improve in the immediate future.

“So ginger has become very expensive. It will be expensive for the next two years,” Ms. Koomson stated, adding that consumers should prepare themselves for higher market prices.

“They should be prepared to pay for a higher price,” she added.

To address the challenge, the agribusiness entrepreneur called for increased investment in agricultural research to help farmers develop and adopt disease-resistant ginger varieties.

“That’s where the researchers come into it. We need to do a lot of research and then also help the farmers to improve their varieties that they are going to be disease resistant,” she explained.

Ms. Koomson stressed that collaboration between researchers, extension officers and farmers will be crucial in strengthening the resilience of Ghana’s ginger industry and ensuring sustainable production in the years ahead.