In 2016, the Netherlands imported about 5.5 million kilos of quinoa. This is a record, and more than three times as much as four years ago. This was reported by the Dutch CBS (Statistics Netherlands) based on new analyses of trade figures.
The export of quinoa also increased in the past four years: from 1.4 million kilos in 2012 to 3.5 million kilos in 2016. In the first half of 2017, both import and export of quinoa amounted to 2.1 million kilos. Quinoa mostly comes from South America, Peru in particular. Globally there has been an increasing interest in quinoa in recent years.
More than 63 per cent of imported quinoa isn’t meant for the Dutch market, but is re-exported. The remainder stays in the Netherlands for consumption. In 2016, more than 2 million kilos of imported quinoa was available for consumption in the Netherlands. Four years earlier, that was only 267,000 kilos. For some years now, quinoa has also been produced to a limited extent in the Netherlands. This is currently done by about 20 companies that have less than 100 hectares.
Peru most important country of origin
Most quinoa imported in the Netherlands comes from South America: 5.4 million kilos in 2016 (including transit). This is almost 90 per cent of the total. Peru is by far the most important export country with nearly 4.1 million kilos, followed by Bolivia with more than 0.9 million and Chile with 0.4 million kilo.
The Netherlands also imported quinoa from European countries (primarily re-export and transit), in particular from the UK and Spain.
The Netherlands mostly exports to European countries: 93 per cent of quinoa that left the country in 2016 was sent to another country in the EU. Germany and Austria are the most important destinations. Besides, small amounts are also exported to Asia and America.
The Netherlands is the largest quinoa exporter in the EU
The Netherlands plays an important part on the European quinoa market. Within the EU, the Netherlands is the second-largest importer of quinoa with more than 6 million kilos. France is the only country to import more, about 6.3 million kilos. Germany is third with 5.2 million kilos. As an exporter, the Netherlands is by far the largest in the EU. France and Germany follow at a distance, with 1.5 and 1.3 million kilos in 2016.
Source: CBS