Trade Winds Citrus scores big with first ginger crop

Trade Winds Citrus has earned an enviable track record as a consistent supplier of fresh-quality juices for the local and overseas markets.

The company last week celebrated an unprecedented move; that of producing ginger at its farms in Bog Walk, St Catherine.

Ginger is the latest addition to crops such as oranges and sorrel which the company grows on its large acres of lands. Managing Director Peter McConnell is quite ecstatic about the reaping of the ginger, which came some 10 months after the crop was planted in May of last year.

According to a release, McConnell stated, "We're really excited about reaping our first crop of commercially grown ginger. We're just as excited about the results and the harvest because this is brand new to us. It's all about learning and experimenting and seeing what other crops we can grow to put into our juices."

The company purchases ginger from local farmers; however, the company felt it was necessary to expand into a new territory by growing ginger.

According to McConnell, "We're just trying to open up new frontiers. We only grow citrus and sorrel right now. By growing our own ginger, we see multiple benefits, such as use in our Tru-Juice products and for export purposes."

He continued, "Brand Jamaica is absolutely important to us. We are a Jamaican company, a Jamaican brand, and we are very proud of it," he ended.