Spices and Herbs

The only spices which are produced locally in The Netherlands are caraway and poppy
seed, sweet peppers and some herbs. After Germany, The Netherlands, as the second
largest importer, took a total volume of 53,485 tonnes or 20 per cent of all EU imports of
herbs and spices in 1997. In the same year, Dutch imports amounted to a total of ECU 114
million, an increase of 75 per cent over imports in 1995. In 1997 pepper accounted for
more than 30 per cent of total spice imports, while between 1995 and 1997 the import
volume grew by 46 per cent. Other major increases were in the demand for capsicum,
paprika, coriander, nutmeg, ginger and caraway, which together comprised the majority of
imports to The Netherlands.
Indonesia is the single largest supplier of spices to The Netherlands. Between 1995 and
1997, the import volume from developing countries increased by 32 per cent to 33,196
tonnes. Since 1996, India and Vietnam follow Indonesia in order of importance as import
sources of supply, while Brazil, China and Thailand are other significant sources.
Between 1995 and 1997 Malaysia, Costa Rica, Grenada, Morocco and Nigeria became
important suppliers.
The Netherlands is a sizeable exporter of spices and herbs owing to re-export activities and
its long history in trade, which was established in the 17 th century. In 1997 The
Netherlands, with a volume of 33,791 tonnes, was the largest exporting country in the EU.
The EU market
In 1997 apparent consumption of spices and herbs in the EU was estimated to be 158,660
tonnes with a value of ECU 324 million. Gross imports fluctuate quite considerably around
this figure due to the differing stock levels held by major trading companies at any one
time and to the (re-) export trade between member countries of the EU.
Average consumption and the popularity of herbs and spices vary considerably from
region to region in the EU. Consumption per capita is relatively low in Ireland and is much
higher in Austria, Germany and The Netherlands. The Mediterranean regions of southern
France, Spain and Italy have very low consumption of dried herbs, but use a lot of fresh
material out of gardens or wild produce harvested in the mountains.
In 1998, the total industrial sector amounted to 53,900 tonnes with a value of ECU 494
million. Although it is a mature market, further growth is expected in the coming years.
There are roughly 43 food ingredient manufacturers in the EU and the market is controlled
by Daregal and McCormick. Vertically integrated food manufacturers, such as Nestlé and
CPC, produce some of their own ingredients, including flavours. The major EU retail
markets are Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain and Italy because of their large
population sizes. Over the past few years retail sales of spices and herbs in most EU
countries have grown and in 1997 these amounted to ECU 1,050 million. The consumption
of spices in the non-food sector, in pharmaceuticals and perfumery, is still small and does
not have any significant effect on overall demand.
Few spices are produced in the EU. Paprika and saffron are produced in Spain and Italy. In
1997 the total volume of EU imports accounted for 260,831 tonnes and represented a total
value of ECU 650.9 million. Between 1995 and 1997 almost all countries in the EU
increased their imports of spices and herbs.
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