Garlic no exception
Swedish government investments boosted food trade
According to a USDA Gain report from 2009, the Swedish Government decided to further invest US$ 21 million that year to reach the vision for Sweden to become the new culinary nation. The food industry is Sweden’s fourth largest
employer and along with growing tourism, it is of major importance to rural areas.
This boost has seen a rise in demand for all produce, and garlic has been no exception. A restaurant supplier in Sweden said that they have been seeing a growing demand for all goods and in response have expanded their offering over the last 5 to 6 years, with a large explosion seen in the last 2 years.
Garlic has seen steady growth in Sweden and is something that is available year round. There is no real peak season as with other produce, but fresh garlic sales have seen a boost during the last couple of weeks because it is currently in season, along with this being the start of the busy season for the restaurant industry.
Most of the garlic sourced for the Swedish market is from China, France and Sweden. The most common types of garlic supplied is traditional garlic, solo/single clove, black garlic (which is a niche product) and garlic sprouts.
The organic garlic is most often Chinese, but is also Spanish. The garlic sprouts are one of the few garlic products which are grown locally at a large enough scale to supply the industry, and are also purchased from the Netherlands when the domestic supply is no longer available.
Sweden’s total Rural Development funds for the period 2007-2013 amounted to SEK 35 billion (US$ 4.5 billion), about 50% of which was funded by Swedish government and the other half by the EU. Part of the funding went to implementing Sweden as the new culinary country, by supporting investments and education within food and food handicraft.
