World Vegetable Map tracks global trade, conditionsMORE: Canada’s position on World Vegetable Map

Rabobank has released a new World Vegetable Map, which highlights the latest data on global vegetable production, consumption and trade.

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According to the map, the value of global vegetable trade rose in line with rising prices, reaching 3 per hundred average annual growth from 2017 to 2022.

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Production in the European Union and the United States saw declines over the same period.

Consumption, however, held up relatively well despite higher costs for consumers and producers alike.

“The past five years have been everything but boring for the vegetable sector,” Cindy van Rijswick, global strategist of fresh produce at Rabobank, said in a news release.

The COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events, skyrocketing costs for growers, and challenging logistics are just some of the factors that have impacted the sector.

At its height, global trade was valued at USD 107 billion in 2021, passing the USD 100 billion mark for the first time.

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Compared to trade, global vegetable production grew at a slower pace of 1.2 per cent between 2017 and 2022.

Notably, the EU and the US both experienced declines in production.

An estimated 7 per cent of vegetables produced globally are traded, mainly within continents and often between neighboring countries.

Since 2017, the US has cemented its position as the world’s largest import market for fresh vegetables, with a significant share of imports for greenhouse vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell peppers.

This has led to a nearly 40 per cent increase in Mexico’s total fresh vegetable exports between 2017 and 2022.

“Mexico, Spain, and the Netherlands have remained relevant exporters in the world of fresh vegetables,” van Rijswick said.

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Countries such as Turkey and Poland are becoming bigger producers and exporters of both fresh and processed vegetables.

Poland, in particular, has evolved as both an importer and exporter, reflecting its growing significance as a central European trading hub.

Meanwhile, in the processed vegetable market, China now exports more frozen vegetables than Belgium, the previous top exporter.

The clearest overall trend shows higher costs all around.

Global trade value of frozen vegetables went up in 2021 because of high demand during the pandemic and inflation.

In 2021 and 2022, the cost of making and shipping processed vegetables also increased due to higher prices for vegetables, packaging, logistics, and energy.

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Inflation affected the fresh vegetable sector too, though to a lesser extent.

In many cases, prices also increased for consumers, said Van Rijswick.

Despite inflation, consumption has held up relatively well overall.

Still, it is difficult to determine whether inflated vegetable prices have impacted consumer-purchasing behavior, as developments vary around the world.

In Australia, per capita vegetable consumption decreased between 2017 and 2022, despite relatively limited inflation, as consumers shifted to purchasing fewer, but higher-value vegetables.

In the US, the overall volume of vegetables consumed did not change much over the same time period.

German households, in contrast, bought more fresh vegetables, with post-pandemic purchases remaining considerably higher than in 2019, despite the relatively high increase in vegetable prices.

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