Italy main destination of garlic (re)export

The Dutch consumer primarily buys garlic fresh. The Fruit and Vegetable Monitor of the Productschap Tuinbouw (PT) show that over 90% of garlic is bought fresh and uncut. In Germany this percentage is around 75%. In this country almost 15% buy this vegetable pre-cut. In our country only a few percent do.

When preparing a meal, over three quarters of consumers in both countries cut the garlic into pieces, after which the further preparation is hugely different. In Holland over half the consumers wok the garlic. In Germany only around 15% do the same. The Germans prefer cooking and baking. Both score at over 25%. In Holland this is six and 20%, respectively.

The Dutch mainly flavour pasta, rice and potatoes with garlic (each scoring around 25%) to then combine it with mince or chicken. German use garlic for the same types of meat and prefer to use it with pasta and potatoes (each 30%). This preference is lowest among the elderly in Germany. In Holland it is the younger generation who eat relatively little garlic.

The aromatic vegetable is barely grown in Holland. There is a big trade in it, though, the sector statistics of the PT show. In the period 2007-2011 importers imported between 28.5 and 36.8 million kilos on a yearly basis, most of it from China. China's share declined in that period from over 75 to almost 65% (2011: almost 22 million kilos). The import from Argentina increased (2011: 5.3 million kilos, worth 15% of the total) and - to a lesser extent - so did that from Egypt and Mexico.

In 2011, Italy was the main destination for the (re)export, with 5.2 million kilos. Thanks to an increase in the sales to this country since 2007 (when Italy bought 1.8 million kilos) the southern European country overtook Germany as largest buyer in 2011. This country was worth 4.8 million kilos out of a total export of almost 29 million kilos in 2011.

The sector statistics and results of the Fruit and Vegetable Monitor are on www.tuinbouw.nl. Information on garlic and recipes can be found at www.2x2.nl. www.veggipedia.nl contains information on nutritional values and storing, buying and preparation tips for fruit and vegetables. For more information on the Fruit and Vegetable Monitor contact Anne Marie Borgdorff, tel. 079 3470646 or e-mail a.borgdorff@tuinbouw.nl. For information on sector statistics contact Peter van der Salm, tel 079 3470662 or e-mail p.vandersalm@tuinbouw.nl.