The bell pepper is the second most popular type of vegetable in Austria. Nearing the end of the season, the large diversity of bell peppers brings colour and healthy vitamins in Autumn. Pepper couriers from the 'Agrarmarkt Austria Marketing' (AMA) are on their way this week to the streets of Vienna to hand out free samples of the coloured vegetable, as well as free tickets for a big prize draw. The AMA is trying to make everyone aware of this versatile vegetable for one last time before the end of the season. The prize draw gives people a chance to win the AMA vegetable cookbook, key chains, and USB sticks, all in the shape of a bell pepper.
In Austria, approximately 16,340 tonnes of peppers worth 53 million Euro are consumed every year. This makes the bell pepper the most popular type of vegetable after the tomato. The organic share of peppers sits at 2.9%.
Peppers are particularly popular with families. Approximately 80% of family households regularly buys peppers. For young and older singles, this percentage is around 58%. The most peppers are consumed in the region of Burgenland, the least are consumed in Voralberg.
Peppers are apparently a type of vegetable for quantity consumption, as revealed by a study of the AMA in April 2011. Peppers are consumed daily in 6% of the households, and several times a week in 34% of households. Peppers are especially popular as a snack, a cold side dish, or as a salad.