Dhaka, Jan. 14 -- Production of ginger has almost been stagnant at around 80,000 tonnes for the last one decade, while demand for the important and herbal spice has surged five times by this time, said insiders.

The rocketing demand has been forcing the country to import 0.5-0.6 million tonnes of ginger worth billions of Tk annually, they added.

Ginger production reached 82,152 tonnes in the last financial year (FY) 2021-22, which was 81,715 tonnes in FY 21, and 84,887 tonnes in FY 20, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data.

The BBS data also showed that the spice production was 77,052 tonnes and 83,004 tonnes in FY 14 and FY 15 respectively, which was almost the same like that in the new decade.

According to the ...