IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘EU – Dates – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

The EU date market rose slightly to $324M in 2019, increasing by 1.6% against the previous year. This figure reflects the total revenues of producers and importers (excluding logistics costs, retail marketing costs, and retailers’ margins, which will be included in the final consumer price). The market value increased at an average annual rate of +4.0% over the period from 2013 to 2019; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with somewhat noticeable fluctuations being recorded in certain years. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2016 with an increase of 19% against the previous year. The level of consumption peaked in 2019 and is likely to see gradual growth in the near future.

Consumption by Country

The countries with the highest volumes of date consumption in 2019 were France (27K tonnes), the UK (21K tonnes), and Germany (15K tonnes), with a combined 53% share of total consumption. Italy, Spain, Belgium, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Austria lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 37%.

From 2013 to 2019, the biggest increases were in Poland, while date consumption for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, France ($62M), the UK ($60M), and Germany ($44M) were the countries with the highest levels of market value in 2019, with a combined 51% share of the total market. These countries were followed by Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, and Poland, which together accounted for a further 40%.

The countries with the highest levels of date per capita consumption in 2019 were Denmark (655 kg per 1000 persons), France (412 kg per 1000 persons) and Belgium (367 kg per 1000 persons).

Imports in the EU

In 2019, approx. 161K tonnes of dates were imported in the European Union; with an increase of 8.7% compared with 2018. The total import volume increased at an average annual rate of +5.5% from 2013 to 2019; however, the trend pattern indicated some noticeable fluctuations being recorded throughout the analyzed period. In value terms, date imports reached $444M (IndexBox estimates) in 2019. Over the period under review, imports reached the peak figure in 2019 and are likely to continue growing in the near future.

Imports by Country

In 2019, France (43K tonnes), distantly followed by Germany (24K tonnes), the UK (22K tonnes), Italy (13K tonnes), the Netherlands (12K tonnes), and Spain (11K tonnes) represented the main importers of dates, together achieving 78% of total imports. Belgium (7.1K tonnes), Denmark (4.5K tonnes), Poland (4.1K tonnes), Sweden (3.4K tonnes), and Austria (2.7K tonnes) held a minor share of total imports.

From 2013 to 2019, the most notable rate of growth in terms of purchases, amongst the main importing countries, was attained by Poland, while imports for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, the largest date importing markets in the European Union were France ($96M), Germany ($71M) and the UK ($64M), together accounting for 52% of total imports. These countries were followed by the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Sweden and Poland, which together accounted for a further 40%.

Import Prices by Country

The date import price in the European Union stood at $2,753 per tonne in 2019, dropping by -5.9% against the previous year. Over the last six-year period, it increased at an average annual rate of +1.3%. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2018 an increase of 8.4% year-to-year. As a result, import price attained the peak level of $2,925 per tonne, and then declined in the following year.

There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major importing countries. In 2019, the country with the highest price was the Netherlands ($3,962 per tonne), while Poland ($2,014 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.

From 2013 to 2019, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by the Netherlands, while the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox AI Platform