Top Ginger Producing Countries

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a tropical plant whose rhizome is widely used as a spice and for medicinal purposes. The top countries farming ginger today are India, China, Nigeria, Nepal, and Indonesia, with India being the largest producer, accounting for over 30% of the world’s output. The history of ginger cultivation traces back more than 5,000 years to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, where it was first domesticated. Ancient records show ginger being used in both Indian and Chinese medicine and cuisine as early as the first millennium BCE. From there, it spread via maritime trade routes to the Middle East and the Mediterranean, where it became a prized commodity in the Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages, Arab traders introduced ginger to East Africa and Europe, and European colonial expansion later facilitated its cultivation in the Caribbean and West Africa. Today, ginger is grown in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, but the Asian continent remains at the heart of its production and export.

Data from United Nations FAO Stat