The international reputation of tiger nuts as a superfood due to their exceptional nutritional properties is giving a boost to the demand for them in the main European, North American and Asian markets, to the point that the tuber has consolidated as the most viable crop and with better commercial prospects in Valencia.
The Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA) assures that the exponential increase of the consumption both nationally and worldwide is translating into an improvement of the prices at origin. The head of the tiger nut sector at AVA-ASAJA, who is the current president of the Designation of Origin Chufa de Valencia, Antonio José Gimeno, states that "producers have already been receiving prices above the threshold of profitability for three or four consecutive campaigns, while other traditional crops, such as onions, potatoes or watermelons, have been suffering from frequent price crises and drastic acreage reductions."
AVA-ASAJA is using tiger nuts as an example to illustrate how "the sector's sensible actions, the promotion of the healthy benefits of the product and a balance between supply and demand can lead to fair prices for all links in the chain, including producers."
Spain's thriving tourism industry, with record numbers of visitors in recent years, has contributed to increasing the consumption of horchata, but the resurgence of this tuber is mainly due to its classification as superfood and its inclusion in healthy diets, which have lately become fashionable in the United States, Germany or the United Kingdom. More and more consumers appreciate the virtues of tiger nuts. It has a high content of fibre, magnesium, potassium, vitamins E and C and plant proteins, it helps combat hypertension and cholesterol, it helps prevent diabetes, etc.
Also, demand grows as new uses for the raw material are devised. The consumption of horchata is losing some ground to the use of fresh tiger nuts as a snack. Flour for cooking made from tiger nuts is also gaining market share, since it has no gluten and the followers of Paleolithic diets demand it to prepare dishes to their liking. Lastly, tiger nuts are also used in cosmetics and in the production of oils, beers, nougats or liqueurs, among other products.
This type of markets, which tend to have a higher purchasing power, show a special preference for organic tiger nuts and, in the face of this trend, the sector is making a strong commitment to increasing the production grown under certified organic methods.
