The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Agribusiness reports that it still has $2,917,812 outstanding on loans made to ginseng growers for the 2023 crop and another $8,464,809 for the last year’s crop.
The Ginseng Growers Association has not responded for weeks to an e-mail asking for an interview about the markets for ginseng.
The loan program was introduced in 2022 as a pilot project.
The government guarantees loans of up to $1 million through its Agriculture Credit Corporation.
The loans for up to 36 months are at the prime rate of interest.