LIP: Puno to host World Congress on Quinoa

"Puno to Host World Congress on Quinoa"
W. Alejandro Sanchez & Brittney Figueroa
Living in Peru
20 February, 2017
Originally published: http://www.peruthisweek.com/food-puno-to-host-international-conferences-on-quinoa-111276

Peru will host the VI World Congress on Quinoa and the IIIInternational Symposium of Andean Grains on March 21-24, 2017. The event will take place at the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano de Puno in the Puno region of southern Peru. The Congress’s objectives include promoting the nutritional, cultural, and gastronomic aspects of this grain to improve its stance in the global market, and also as a way to “reduce poverty and hunger, particularly in the communities of the high Andes.”

Peru is a global producer of this healthy grain, and is in constant competition with neighboring Bolivia for the title of Biggest Producer. The income gained from quinoa exports, as well as the way it helps promote the “made in Peru” brand across the world, makes the production of this grain a matter of national importance.

Export Numbers – Markets

Data from last year’s quinoa production and exports highlights the importance of this Peruvian crop, with the U.S. being its main destination. According to the Peruvian export association, Adex, between January and August of 2016, the country exported 33,778 tons of quinoa, 36% more than during the same period in 2015. Of this amount, 43% was bought by the U.S., with other destinations being Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. While the developed world continues to favor the grain as part of an ongoing health food craze, Peruvian quinoa is not just for consumption, as it can be utilized to produce cosmetics that Peru aims to export to the Asia Pacific region. Over half a million Peruvians make a living from growing quinoa,according to the Peruvian government.

Meanwhile, Bolivia continues to be a major quinoa producer with exports totaling 25 thousand tons in 2015, and 26 thousand tons in 2016. Moreover, other countries, like France, the United Kingdom, and the United States have their own variations of homegrown quinoa.

While production (in terms of volume) in the latter countries cannot be compared to the Andean states, it still poses a problem, as these are the target export countries for Lima and La Paz. Hence, consumption of locally-grown quinoa decreases the profits the South American countries obtain.

Another problem is the over-saturation of the market, which could reduce profits across the board. This is already happening in Bolivia, as a January 27, 2017 report in the daily Los Tiemposexplained. According to the article, 10% of two thousand Bolivian quinoa growers (members of the national quinoa association ANAPQUI) have stopped growing this crop “due to a fall in the international price and due to a drought.” Although not yet an issue in Peru, the situation in neighboring Bolivia should be of concern for Peruvian quinoa growers as well.

Culinary Diplomacy

A final word should be said about the role of quinoa as a component of a country’s culinary and cultural diplomacy. In 2013, Peru achieved a major victory when the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations declared that year as the International Year of the Quinoa. Peruvian delegations regularly participate in international food fairs, in which different types of quinoa are shown to business owners and the general public. The goal is to not only increase Peruvian exports, (and by default, help the Peruvian state obtain more revenue) but also to establish a globally-known “made in Peru” brand that is associated, in this case, with culinary flavor and richness. Given the saturation of the global quinoa market, it is critical that Peruvian authorities ensure that international consumers regard Peruvian-grown quinoa as the most preferable.

Conclusions

In a 2013 commentary for Blouin News, one author argued, “Peru should embark in an aggressive culinary diplomacy by taking advantage of its rich agricultural resources and well-regarded traditional dishes. Capitalizing on the global craze over quinoa was a well thought-out initiative by the Peruvian government.” Lima has generally followed this suggestion, and the upcoming World Congress on Quinoa and the International Symposium of Andean Grains in Puno should cement a global association between quinoa and Peru. (While not the objective of this analysis, the authors would like to applaud the fact that the congress will take place in Puno, not in the capital, which is a step toward diversifying where international events are held in Peru.)

Quinoa’s importance is multifaceted, not only to Peru, but also to the rest of the world, hence it is commendable that the organizers of the upcoming World Congress include the ministries of Agriculture, Culture, Environment, and Foreign Affairs. The anticipated success of the event will help reaffirm Peru’s position as a global producer of quinoa.

W. Alejandro Sanchez Nieto is an international security analyst. Follow him on Twitter:@W_Alex_Sanchez

Brittney J. Figueroa is a recent graduate from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a Bachelors degree in Global Studies, and a Minor in Latin American Iberian Studies.

The views presented in this essay are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of any institutions with which the authors are associated.

Blouin Beat: World - Peru’s culinary diplomacy

Peru's Culinary Diplomacy
W. Alejandro Sanchez
Blouin Beat: World
December 23, 2013
Originally published: http://blogs.blouinnews.com/blouinbeatworld/2013/12/23/perus-culinary-diplomacy/

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations declared 2013 as the International Year of the Quinoa, a high-protein, grain-like crop from the Andes. Whether consumers of quinoa around the world associate this crop with Peru, a major producer of quinoa, is debatable. Nevertheless, quinoa’s widespread popularity is helping the Peruvian government expand its international presence via culinary diplomacy.

This grain-like crop originates from the Andes, and is produced by countries like Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru and now also in nations like the U.S. However, it is the Peruvian government which has carried out an (admittedly successful) international diplomatic campaign to tie the idea to the consumer that Peru is a major producer of the most flavorful and healthiest types of quinoa.

The best example of this diplomatic initiative was the U.N.’s designation of 2013 as the year of quinoa. This past February, Peru’s First Lady Nadine Heredia participated in a ceremony at the U.N.’s headquarters in New York, in which Heredia and Bolivia’s President Evo Morales received the honorary title of “special ambassadors” to promote quinoa consumption. Unsurprisingly, the Year of the Quinoa culminated with ceremonies in Puno (a region in Southern Peru) and in Bolivia in mid-December. First Lady Heredia was also in attendance, as well as Jose Graziano da Silva, the director general of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

Furthermore, there have been cultural and culinary initiatives sponsored by the Peruvian government to increase the consumption of quinoa abroad and associate it with that particular Andean nation. For example, in March the Peruvian consulate in Panama organized a culinary competition in which the goal was for amateur chefs to create a fusion of traditional Panamanian food ingredients with quinoa.

As for how the quinoa is helping the Peruvian economy; the country produces 40 thousand hectares of the crop annually, and it aims to reach 50,000 by 2014. The Peruvian Ministry of External Commerce and Tourism reports the exports of Peruvian quinoa in the first half of 2013increased by 61%, compared to the same period in 2012. Milton Von Hesse, Peru’s Minister of Agriculture, declared this past September that the goal is that by 2016, Peru will have surpassed Bolivia as the world’s biggest quinoa producer.

But while Peru has grand ambitions regarding how quinoa can expand its international presence, there is more that it will have to do, not just exporting more quinoa than neighboring Bolivia. Receiving positive media articles are always a welcomed development. For example, in October, Bloomberg news agency published an article with the flattering title “How Bolivian Farmers Made the World Crave Quinoa.” The author of the article reported how he traveled to Bolivia to taste the crop, which was “bursting with flavor, and so fresh that it still had tiny bits of dirt in it, making it crunchy to eat.”

In spite of Bolivia’s current dominant role in the quinoa market, the growing international consumption of quinoa is also aiding Peru to have a greater international culinary presence. In a November 2013 Working Paper for the Argentine think tank Centro Argentino de Estudios Internacionales, the author of this commentary discussed Peruvian geopolitics and its prospects of becoming a regional powerhouse in Latin America. In the analysis, I suggested that Peru should embark in an aggressive “culinary diplomacy” by taking advantage of its rich agricultural resources and well-regarded traditional dishes. Capitalizing on the global craze over quinoa was a well thought-out initiative by the Peruvian government.

Finally, apart from the popular crop, Peru’s international culinary presence is also expanding via its traditional cuisine. For example, Gaston Acurio, the country’s most renowned chef, has opened several restaurants across the United States. In September, the chef opened a restaurant in theMandarin Oriental hotel in Miami. Furthermore, restaurants that offer Peruvian dishes, including the famous pollo a la brasa (roasted chicken) have appeared in several major U.S. cities, such as Washington D.C.

As the International Year of the Quinoa comes to an end, the growing consumption of Peruvian crops and dishes gives the Andean nation an important culinary momentum with which to greet 2014. Whether the Peruvian government can capitalize on it in the near future remains to be seen.