Jiang Mingtao, founder of Marathon Ginseng International Inc., shows how to dig ginseng at a ginseng farm in Marathon County, Wisconsin, the United States, in this Oct. 22, 2018 file photo. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)
With the Chinese market recovering from COVID-19 early this year, retail sales going back to the way they were, and wholesale business increasing, Jiang Mingtao hopes to expand his ginseng planting area.
CHICAGO, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Ginseng farmer Jiang Mingtao in Marathon County, U.S. state of Wisconsin, will be absent from the China International Import Expo (CIIE) this year, but his products will be brought to the exhibition by the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin.
Jiang attended the CIIE in 2018 and 2019. "We were inexperienced when attending the CIIE in 2018, and the booth was small," he told Xinhua. "We had a bigger exhibition area at the CIIE in 2019, and got lots of feedbacks."
"CIIE definitely helps us explore the Chinese market," Jiang said, adding that he got acquainted with many new clients and partners there. "We are still cooperating with some Chinese partners found then."
The CIIE this year will be held in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10.
The CIIE is "a worthy opportunity," and the Chinese market is "vital to us," he said.
Jiang, who has been in the ginseng industry in Wisconsin for 14 years, launched a branch company recently in Jinan, North China's Shandong Province, hoping the branch can help him explore the Chinese market.
Ginseng roots have long been very popular in China, a world-leading ginseng consumption market, while Wisconsin ginseng has enjoyed a good reputation due to its quality in terms of freshness, purity, and taste.
For Wisconsin, the state is exporting 70-80 percent of its ginseng products to China, and for Marathon County, ginseng production is a leading industry.
Wisconsin ginseng is a niche product and accounts for only 5-8 percent of the world's production, according to Jiang. "We want to provide the best ginseng products to Chinese customers, and CIIE is a platform that allows us access to more merchants and customers."
Jiang Mingtao drives a tractor to inspect his ginseng farmland in Marathon County, Wisconsin, the United States, Aug. 13, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Yanan)
After three-year prevalence of COVID-19, people come to realize the importance of health care, Jiang said. "China and the United States may pursue different development models, but the Chinese and American people share a common desire for a healthy life," he said, noting that he was optimistic about a higher demand for ginseng and related health products.
In the past four years, the number of ginseng farmers in Wisconsin has dwindled from 160 to below 100, largely due to the logistics interruption during the pandemic and a high tariff.
Wisconsin's ginseng industry got a disastrous hit when logistics interruption seriously harmed the whole industrial chain. And even with the signing of an economic and trade agreement between China and the United States in January 2020, there is still a 32.5 percent tariff on ginseng export.
"We prayed for the end of the trade war ... But five years later, the trade war is still there," Jiang lamented. "Trade war plus the pandemic, times are hard for us."
A cycle for the ginseng industry is ten years, "we are now at a 40-year low, it's not easy to survive," he said.
In order to survive, Jiang said he has begun to grow radish and waxy corn in recent years. "We have no choice."
Jiang does lots of video clips to help Americans understand the benefits of eating ginseng, while pursuing a diversified business.
With the Chinese market recovering from COVID-19 early this year, retail sales going back to the way they were, and wholesale business increasing, Jiang hopes to expand his ginseng planting area.
"We hope to continue exploring the Chinese market ... We hope to attend the China International Import Expo in the future," he said. ■
