Turmeric has been widely used in Ayurveda, Chinese, Egyptian and Japanese (Kampo) medicine since many centuries. Lately, turmeric has been touted as a superfood and the market is likely to gain traction over the forthcoming years.

The key active ingredient of turmeric (which also gives the food its distinctive taste and aroma) is its high curcumin content which has been clinically shown to fight against cancer, boost your immune system and cleanse the gut, liver and biliary systems.

Fiji is currently tapping into the huge opportunity presented by the North American consumer base with various Fijian companies venturing into niche products.

Fijian company; Island Magic has established a growers group network across the villages to procure fresh turmeric. The organically certified Fiji turmeric has an extremely high curcumin content which gives it superior health and juicing abilities.

Tavulomo Coconuts which participated at the Auckland Food Show in 2020 specializes on value added products such as coconut water and vegan snacks manufactured from coconut meat. They gradually expanded to non-coconut products such as ginger juice and cold pressed turmeric and exports to New Zealand, Australia, Germany, China and Japan.

Recently, Pacific Trade Invest Australia & Beijing office assisted the company in getting their trial shipment of cold pressed turmeric ginger & lime health shots to Beijing, China.

Interestingly, USA import of Fiji’s turmeric accounted for97.87% (worth US$9.15 million), New Zealand 2.06% (worthUS$192,780) and Japan 0.07% (worth US$6,090).

In terms of its global market size, valued at US$58.4 million in 2019, Curcumin demand is anticipated to be driven by its increasing applications in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals (the largest segment accounted for over50 percent of the global industry revenue in 2017).

Currently, non-organic curcumin segment dominates the market with a share of 83 percent of the total market by revenue. This dominance of the non-organic segment is expected to diminish as supply of organic curcumin rises with rise in demand for organic products with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification.

Global export value of turmeric in 2020 was US$124.38million with largest exporters of turmeric; India (33,650 tons worth US$69.94 million), Fiji (1,810 tons worth US$9.34million), Germany (1,500 tons worth US$6.78 million), UK(903.93 tons worth US$4.93 million) and China (1,030 tons worth US$4.40 million).

Europe is a promising market for turmeric suppliers, as European buyers are already familiar with turmeric and its applications in the health product industry. The United Kingdom is a very attractive market for turmeric, being its second largest importer and the #1 market for fair trade certified products. This definitely offers opportunities for fair trade certified spices exporters. The Netherlands offers an opportunity for turmeric exporters from developing countries, as it is an entry point for ingredients into Europe.

There is also a growing consumption of so-called superfoods. Superfoods are ingredients with a particular benefit and curcuma is one of them. One of the companies that has benefited from the strong organic market growth is La Campina, a farmer’s cooperative of organic-certified farmers in Peru. This company has contributed very strongly to Peru’s successful export expansion strategy for the curcuma superfood.

Investment Fiji Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kamal Chetty said Investment Fiji’s Trade and Export division assists Fijian companies to market products such as turmeric in the global stage and to gain access onto Trade Shows and Exhibitions.

Investment Fiji recently exhibited premium Fijian products on its Fiji Trade Expo Series online platform and is gearing up for the Fiji-USA Trade Expo Series in July. To assist exporters that wish to enter the US Market, a webinar session hosted by Investment Fiji and Registrar Corp will be held on 17th of June on U.S. Labelling and Food Safety.