"We are now halfway through the European garlic season, and overall it has gone well so far. Garlic from China has been very dominant in recent months due to its favourable prices compared to Spanish-origin garlic, for example, and also because of its good and consistent quality," says Joey Deen of Denimpex in De Lier.
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"However, we do see that imports from Argentina are putting slightly more pressure on the market. The quality from both origins is simply good, but because import duties on Chinese garlic have been drastically reduced in Brazil, exporters there are finding it harder to sell and are therefore offering their product very competitively in Europe. Particularly in markets such as France, Italy, and Spain, there is a preference for Argentina and Chile over Chinese products," Joey continues.
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"Over the past two years, we have invested heavily in China to further develop the 'field to fork' principle and improve the image of Chinese garlic. Together with two of our partners in China, we now manage nearly 20 hectares of cultivation entirely under our own supervision and according to our own standards. These partnerships have also opened more doors within the retail landscape, and we are very proud of what we have achieved."
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"What remains a challenge are the import licences required for garlic from China. It is still problematic that the allocated volumes were calculated based on Europe's population in 2001. In the meantime, there are around 5% more people in Europe. At the same time, eating and cooking habits have changed significantly. While this cannot be expressed precisely in figures, I would estimate that garlic consumption may be around 10% higher than it was 25 years ago. To keep the market stable, we believe the volume permitted to enter Europe could be increased somewhat," says the importer.
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He is not dissatisfied with the first two months of the year. "2026 has started somewhat slowly, as is traditionally the case. The first months of the new year are never the busiest. All in all, we cannot complain so far. During Fruit Logistica in Berlin, we were able to present our new logo, corporate identity, and website. We have been working on this quietly with ST Design over the past few months, and we are very pleased with the result."
© DenimpexFor more information:
Joey Deen
Denimpex
Tel: +31 20 6246390
Mob: +31 6 14427584
[email protected]
www.denimpex.nl
