Opportunity knocks as the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Services has given the greenlight to import fresh ginger from Fiji.

The Information Ministry said ginger farming is done both semi-commercial and commercial levels in Fiji and is a lucrative commodity that fetches a very good price in overseas markets.

It said to comply with the import requirements, Australian importers are required to have an import license and green ginger can only be imported into Australia for supply to firms for further processing and therefore it is not allowed to be sold to the public.

A local farmer and Exporter, Kaiming Agro Processing Limited produces around 300 tonnes of ginger annually and exports around 200 tonnes of immature ginger every year.

Last year, Fiji exported 44,243 kg's of fresh ginger with a value of over $203,000 to Australia and New Zealand.