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Ontario Ginseng Growers Seek Higher Ground
By Karen Davidson
Doug Bradley with Marcus Cheng, proprietor of Sun Ming Hong
Open the door of Sun Ming Hong, a herbal shop in Toronto’s Chinatown, and be greeted by the forest-floor odour of ginseng, barrels of it lining the shop Bulk Barn style. Behind the counter is Marcus Cheng, proprietor, who has been buying Ontario root since the 1970s, promoting its potency and, moreover, its Canadian origin to his Chinese clients.
“It’s a very important concept for traditional Chinese culture to source plants from their native land,” explains Cheng, over an array of bony structured roots that mimic Chinese letters. “It’s all about di dao, or in translation, way of the earth.” The fact of the matter is wild ginseng is now considered an endangered species in Ontario. Thanks to an exemption in the Endangered Species Act, Ontario growers can legally cultivate ginseng and supply up to 70 per cent of the world’s most highly prized Panax quinquefolius.
“Ginseng dates back to the fur trade,” says Doug Bradley, Chair of Ontario Ginseng Growers Association. The gnarly root has a storied past in Canada with documented records of Jesuit priests shipping it from Montreal to New York and on to the Asian continent in the early 1700s. That’s why in China ginseng is still associated with the U.S. stars and stripes. It’s just one of the misconceptions that Ontario ginseng growers would like to dispel about their premium product.
In recent trade missions to Hong Kong, Bradley says that local pollsters are trying to find out from consumers what they really think about the product and how they buy and use it. In a promotion during the summer of 2008, consumers reacted favourably to the taste samples, about 80 per cent reporting that Ontario ginseng is better than what they have tasted in the past. Taste is considered the barometer of quality, the stronger the better, generally.
In the consumer polling, it was found that slices of ginseng were the most preferred form, with teabags next. Less desired consumer purchase formats were candies, bulk root, powders and capsules. Most consumers were willing to pay $12 to $25 Canadian for their ginseng tonic. Once considered the king of herbs, ginseng has recently lost some of its lustre due to changing demographics in China. The young and affluent generation think of ginseng as a tonic in teas and soup broths, no longer as a luxury gift to cement business relationships.
This is where brand positioning can help rebuild the prestige of ginseng and consumer awareness. Bradley has felt encouraged by a new relationship with the Hong Kong North American Ginseng Importers Association. Under their umbrella, the first project has been to launch a new logo to position Canadian ginseng in the market. These are considered important strides for the Ontario Ginseng Growers Association, which had its first international foray, in 2003 to the International Ginseng Conference in Melbourne, Australia. Since then, numerous trips to Hong Kong and Beijing have enlightened Ontario growers about the market that, to date, has been in the hands of Hong Kong brokers.
The usual ritual is that every fall Hong Kong brokers arrive at Ontario farmgates to assess and buy ginseng for transportation and grading back in Hong Kong. From there, ginseng makes its way to mainland China. It’s not a simple process, according to Cheng, who explains that pharmaceutical drug standards are applied to the raw material. A complex maze of tariff laws easily leads to ginseng not making it to the intended buyers or arriving at inflated prices. As the association’s intelligence about international markets has increased, other competitive markets have coincidentally fallen away in favour of Ontario. Wisconsin and British Columbia are now planting fewer acres.
Statistics Canada reports that 6.3 million pounds of Canadian ginseng was exported in 2007 with an estimated value of $70 million. While prices are currently down to $12 to $14 per pound, some recent movement is giving growers hope for a better 2009.
“It’s a site-specific crop,” explains Ken Van Torre who with his brother, gradually transitioned out of tobacco to ginseng over 20 years. They now grow 80 acres of ginseng near Burford, Ontario and Ken heads up the association’s buyers/market development committee. The crop is notorious for requiring patience in planting seed and nurturing root stock that’s not ready to harvest for about four years.
Once a grower has harvested ginseng, new ground must be sought for planting. The production practices mirror what’s happening on the marketing side. A long-term strategy is needed to cultivate consumers for the years ahead. To that end, the Ontario Ginseng Innovation and Research Centre has been set up at the University of Western Ontario. Dr. Ed Lui, Scientific Director, is supervising an analysis of genetic diversity of Ontario ginseng. Different roots for specific illnesses is a concept providing hope for the future, not unlike ancient Chinese proverbs that say different shapes of roots treat different parts of the body.
Also on the research front, Dr. Vladimir Vukan from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto is conducting studies on why there is so much variability in activity of whole-root ginseng. If confidence can be achieved in potency, then ginseng could become a compelling alternative for prevention and treatment of diabetes and high blood pressure, for example.
Another initiative is to establish a world designation for ginseng, just like the Champagne area of France. A Protected Designated Origin is just another step in Ontario’s quest for recognition and unique differentiation of our excellent root,” says Denton Hoffman, General Manager, Ontario Ginseng Growers Association. “The recent and largest ever research project at University of Western Ontario is meant to provide the tools to protect us from cheap, fraudulent imports from China or elsewhere. We will secure our Ontario position as the superior product, based on cutting edge scientific methodology and a continuous supply of premium root.”
At a time when the world is trying to understand more of the Chinese culture and its economic impact, Ontario ginseng growers already have some direct insight into changing values and trends. Clearly, traditional concepts of the Chinese market are no longer valid. It’s their on-the-ground relationships that are giving ginseng growers confidence to move forward. The ultimate goal? Ontario ginseng should be shipped directly to Shanghai.
Photos by Laura Berman
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