It’s no secret that even today, it can be quite expensive to buy quinoa regardless of where, or how you’re buying it.
Over the last couple of years, the price of quinoa has dropped dramatically with both of the worlds biggest quinoa producers receiving just 1/3 of the price compared to late 2014.
Quinoa is grown in South America, the majority of it is produced in Peru, and Bolivia as of early 2018 producing and supplying more than 99% of the worlds market.
Ecuador also cultivates it in smaller amounts, it’s still placed in the top biggest quinoa producers in the world.
One of the reasons for quinoa’s expensive price is because it’s grown and harvested by hand.
The seed harvesting time needs to be precise, also panicles from the same exact plant matures at different times making automation by mechanization not an good option, and in turn lowering crop losses.
Secondly (market wise), Peru’s exponential exportation growth in the early 2010’s opened the market for farmers around the world to experiment with the crop. As a result, export prices dropped drastically between 2014 and 2017.
Increased crop production generally drive prices down.
Peru enters Chinese Market
As of July 2019, quinoa prices are set to rise as Peru begins exporting quinoa (the nutrient dense super-food) to China.
Officials from both Peru, and China signed a customs agreement in Beijing to allow importing Quinoa, much like the blueberries agreement in 2016, and shrimp in 2018.
This agreement is an important step for Peru, to put it in perspective, they are the second largest blueberries exporter in China as of 2017, in 2018 they raked in $554 million dollars from blueberries alone, right behind Chile.
Quinoa prices are expected to rise as soon as the shipment starts.
3 Ways to Save on Quinoa
Quinoa is marketed as a super-food, that term alone drives it’s price up, even though quinoa is a nutrient dense seed compared to even the best of other nutritious grains or pseudo-cereals, so here’s how you buy quinoa without breaking the bank.
- Buy quinoa online. Most quinoa manufacturers in the world sell their product online, prepackaged, precooked or uncooked. It’s much easier than purchasing from your local store, especially as they jack up the prices.
- Buying in bulk. Buying quinoa in bulk is much cheaper than smaller quantities, especially compared to prepackaged ones. Find a local, and natural food store that have bulk bins for buying dry foods.
- Sign up for discounts. Quinoa manufacturers like Bob’s Red Mill, Eden Organic or Ancient Harvest often give out online discounts.
You can take a look at their website, and sign up to their newsletter to receive coupons directly to your email.
