One of the earliest Oriental spices known in Europe, ginger has been cultivated in India both as a fresh vegetable and marketed as a dried spice since time immemorial. The fresh, dried or powdered rhizome of a slender, perennial herb, Indian ginger has been acclaimed worldwide for its characteristic taste, flavour & texture. Ginger has always meant many things to many people. A taste- maker. A flavourant. An appetizer. A drug. Though grown all over India, the finest quality ginger comes from Kerala endowed as it is with a congenial climate and a rich earthy soil. Indian dry ginger is known in the world market as 'Cochin Ginger' (NUGC) & 'Calicut Ginger' (NUGK). India offers ginger in a variety of forms; oils, oleoresins, fresh ginger in brine, pickles, candies and syrups. It also comes in garbled/ungarbled, bleached/unbleached and powder forms. India has a predominant position in ginger production and export. The principal buyers are the Middle East, USA, the UK and the Netherlands.