By Bob Weaver
Diggers and growers of ginseng in the West Virginia mountains, beware, your ability to sell the valued herb is at risk.
The US market is being threatened by globalization, would you believe, giving the advantage to foreign countries under international trade agreements.
A change in federal rules related to the production and export of American ginseng that was announced in early August 2005 destroyed the 2005 export market for American ginseng.
The wild American ginseng and wild simulated American ginseng exported from the US typically sells for prices that range from 10 to 25 times higher than plants artificially propagated in other parts of the world.
China's demand for the valued root is skyrocketing. The selling of seng has a billion dollar potential.
A ginseng summit is being scheduled within two weeks at Flatwoods, the Day's Inn, for area growers and sellers.
Several local property owners and growers
attended a public meeting on American ginseng held by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Pittsburgh on January 31.
Attendees at the meeting included scientists, government regulators, some of the largest growers and exporters of ginseng from the US, representatives from the herbal products industry and dozens of private property owners.
Participants in the public session included ginseng growers from Calhoun, Roane, Braxton and Jackson Counties.
In 2005, the West Virginia legislature passed the first modern law in the US related to ginseng production.
Although the new WV law has been touted as a model for the rest of the nation, some original provisions of the law (required by USFWS) were short on common sense and poorly received by West Virginia growers.
For several months, the West Virginia Division of Forestry has been working to develop a protocol for permitting the production of ginseng in private woodland.
In much of West Virginia, the chosen method of ginseng production has become "wild simulated" in which ginseng seeds are planted in conditions that are as close to wild or natural forest habitat as possible.
Growing ginseng in this manner produces plants and roots that cannot be physically or chemically distinguished from wild with monetary values comparable to wild roots.
An important revision of the 2005 WV ginseng law will allow for a "grandfather" clause to identify and permit established growers to continue growing ginseng in their private woodland.
Local property owners wishing to start growing ginseng and become certified ginseng growers should be aware that they must have planting sites certified native ginseng free by the WV Division of Forestry prior to establishing any new plantings.
Three weeks ago, for the first time in over 50 years, the Chinese New Year American ginseng auction that is held annually in Hong Kong was canceled because of a wild American ginseng shortage.
Several aspects of the 2005 scientific "finding" and related rule changes were challenged by scientists, growers and exporters including the necessity for plants to be at least 12 to 15 years old to be legal for export.
At the meeting, attendees learned that none of the information relative to the health of ginseng populations in the 19 states where wild ginseng harvesting remains legal was gathered from private property.
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