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

In 2019, the global plum and sloe market was finally on the rise to reach $14B for the first time since 2014, thus ending a four-year declining trend. The market value increased at an average annual rate of +1.7% over the period from 2013 to 2019; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with somewhat noticeable fluctuations in certain years. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2014 when the market value increased by 17% against the previous year. As a result, consumption attained a peak level of $14.8B. From 2015 to 2019, the growth of the global market remained at a lower figure.

Consumption by Country

The country with the largest volume of plum and sloe consumption was China (7M tonnes), accounting for 55% of total volume. Moreover, plum and sloe consumption in China exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest consumer, Romania (922K tonnes), eightfold. Serbia (392K tonnes) ranked third in terms of total consumption with a 3.1% share.

From 2013 to 2019, the average annual growth rate of volume in China stood at +2.0%. The remaining consuming countries recorded the following average annual rates of consumption growth: Romania (+10.2% per year) and Serbia (-5.0% per year).

In value terms, China ($8.3B) led the market, alone. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Romania ($698M). It was followed by the U.S..

The countries with the highest levels of plum and sloe per capita consumption in 2019 were Bosnia and Herzegovina (58 kg per person), Romania (48 kg per person) and Serbia (45 kg per person).

From 2013 to 2019, the biggest increases were in Morocco, while plum and sloe per capita consumption for the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Production

In 2019, approx. 13M tonnes of plums and sloes were produced worldwide; surging by 3.1% on 2018 figures. The total output volume increased at an average annual rate of +2.4% over the period from 2013 to 2019; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with only minor fluctuations in certain years. The generally positive trend in terms output was largely conditioned by a temperate expansion of the harvested area and notable growth in yield figures.

Production by Country

The country with the largest volume of plum and sloe production was China (7M tonnes), accounting for 54% of total volume. Moreover, plum and sloe production in China exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest producer, Romania (907K tonnes), eightfold. Serbia (413K tonnes) ranked third in terms of total production with a 3.2% share.

From 2013 to 2019, the average annual growth rate of volume in China amounted to +2.2%. In other countries, the average annual rates were as follows: Romania (+10.0% per year) and Serbia (-5.2% per year).

Harvested Area and Yield

In 2019, the total area harvested in terms of plums and sloes production worldwide amounted to 2.7M ha, surging by 1.5% against 2018. The global harvested area peaked in 2019 and is likely to see gradual growth in the near future.

The global average plum and sloe yield rose to 4.9 tonnes per ha in 2019, picking up by 1.5% compared with the previous year. The yield figure increased at an average annual rate of +2.3% from 2013 to 2019; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with only minor fluctuations being observed throughout the analyzed period.

Imports

Global plum and sloe imports expanded modestly to 616K tonnes in 2019, growing by 2% on 2018 figures. In general, imports, however, saw a mild decline. Global imports peaked at 692K tonnes in 2013; however, from 2014 to 2019, imports stood at a somewhat lower figure. In value terms, plum and sloe imports totaled $790M (IndexBox estimates) in 2019.

Imports by Country

The countries with the highest levels of plum and sloe imports in 2019 were Russia (80K tonnes), China (56K tonnes), Germany (44K tonnes), the UK (37K tonnes), Brazil (31K tonnes), the Netherlands (31K tonnes), Kazakhstan (24K tonnes), the U.S. (24K tonnes), Poland (19K tonnes), Canada (16K tonnes), Iraq (15K tonnes) and Romania (15K tonnes), together accounting for 64% of total import.

From 2013 to 2019, the biggest increases were in Romania, while purchases for the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, China ($121M) constitutes the largest market for imported plums and sloes worldwide, comprising 15% of global imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Russia ($58M), with a 7.3% share of global imports. It was followed by Germany, with a 6.9% share.

Import Prices by Country

In 2019, the average plum and sloe import price amounted to $1,283 per tonne, approximately reflecting the previous year. Over the period under review, the import price recorded a relatively flat trend pattern. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2017 an increase of 7.7% year-to-year. Global import price peaked at $1,347 per tonne in 2014; afterward, it flattened through to 2019.

Prices varied noticeably by the country of destination; the country with the highest price was the U.S. ($2,216 per tonne), while Iraq ($228 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.

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

Source: IndexBox AI Platform