Tariffs Hurting Ginseng Farmers in Wisconsin
Tuesday, May 28th, 2019 -- 7:44 AM
(WRN) -Chinese tariffs on American ginseng continue to put a squeeze on the vulnerable market in Central Wisconsin.Wisconsin's ginseng farmers are continuing to struggle as Chinese tariffs ramp up more. Hsu's Ginseng vice president William Hsu says this isn't the first time Marathon County farmers have had to deal with outside interference in the markets.
"We saw something like this back in the 1990s when Canada started ramping up production and they were able to produce it cheaper than we were because of crop subsidies."
Hsu says Marathon County ginseng has bounced back in the past, but farmers have to exist in the present with these poor markets.
"We have to weather the storm and figure out how you can potentially cut costs a little bit without hurting your own quality and that reputation."
Hsu says many farmers are having to make a very tough choice on whether or not to stay in the market.
"How many of you would willingly raise your hand and say I'm okay with being paid less for my crop or my output or my work five years from now?"
He says the war is tough because ginseng takes such a long time to grow that you have to predict many years in advance how much you're going to grow without knowing what the price at the sale is going to be. He says the quality of Wisconsin ginseng is known across the world, it's just that farmers will need to be able to handle the current hit on their bottom line.
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