Cucumber And Gherkin Market in the EU - Key Insights

IndexBox has just published a new report, the EU - Cucumbers And Gherkins - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights. Here is a summary of the report's key findings.

The revenue of the cucumber and gherkin market in the European Union amounted to $3B in 2017, growing by 5.1% 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 cucumber and gherkin consumption continues to indicate a relatively flat trend pattern. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2008, when it surged by 7.8% y-o-y. Over the period under review, the cucumber and gherkin market attained its maximum level at $3.4B in 2013; however, from 2014 to 2017, consumption failed to regain its momentum.

Cucumber And Gherkin Production in the EU

In value terms, cucumber and gherkin production totaled $2.8B in 2017 estimated in export prices. The cucumber and gherkin production continues to indicate a relatively flat trend pattern. 

The countries with the highest volumes of cucumber and gherkin production in 2017 were Poland (544K tonnes), the Netherlands (400K tonnes) and Germany (257K tonnes), with a combined 43% share of total production. Romania, Greece, France, Italy, Bulgaria, the UK, Austria, Sweden and the Czech Republic lagged somewhat behind, together accounting for a further 27%.

From 2007 to 2017, the most notable rate of growth in terms of cucumber and gherkin production, amongst the main producing countries, was attained by the Czech Republic (+7.7% per year), while the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

The average cucumber and gherkin yield amounted to 56 tonne per ha in 2017, flattening at the previous year. The yield figure increased at an average annual rate of +2.0% from 2007 to 2017; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with somewhat noticeable fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. 

In 2017, harvested area of cucumbers and gherkins in the European Union totaled 50K ha, approximately equating the previous year. The cucumber and gherkin harvested area continues to indicate a mild decline over the last decade, which, however, has been offset by rising yields.

Cucumber And Gherkin Exports
Exports in the EU

The volume of exports stood at 1.3M tonnes in 2017, stabilizing at the previous year, increasing at an average annual rate of +3.0% over the period from 2007 to 2017.

In value terms, cucumber and gherkin exports amounted to $1.3B (IndexBox estimates) in 2017. The total export value increased at an average annual rate of +1.9% over the period from 2007 to 2017; however, the trend pattern remained consistent, with somewhat noticeable fluctuations in certain years.

Exports by Country

Spain (628K tonnes) and the Netherlands (433K tonnes) prevails in cucumber and gherkin exports structure, together constituting 80% of total exports. It was distantly followed by Belgium (65K tonnes), achieving 4.9% share of total exports. Germany (35K tonnes), Greece (34K tonnes) and Austria (22K tonnes) followed a long way behind the leaders.

From 2007 to 2017, the most notable rate of growth in terms of exports, amongst the main exporting countries, was attained by Austria (+12.5% per year), while the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, the largest cucumber and gherkin markets worldwide were Spain ($642M), the Netherlands ($478M) and Belgium ($55M), with a combined 87% share of total exports. Greece, Germany and Austria lagged somewhat behind, together accounting for a further 5.3%.

Export Prices by Country

In 2017, the cucumber and gherkin export price in the European Union amounted to $1 per kg, stabilizing at the previous year. The the cucumber and gherkin export price continues to indicate a mild contraction.

Export prices varied noticeably by the country of destination; the country with the highest export price was the Netherlands ($1.1 per kg), while Germany ($645 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.

Cucumber And Gherkin Imports
Imports in the EU

In 2017, the amount of cucumbers and gherkins imported in the European Union totaled 1.3M tonnes, approximately equating the previous year. The total import volume increased at an average annual rate of +2.6% over the period from 2007 to 2017, with the relatively stable trend pattern. In value terms, cucumber and gherkin imports stood at $1.4B (IndexBox estimates) in 2017.

Imports by Country

Germany represented the main importer of cucumbers and gherkins in the European Union, with the volume of imports finishing at 487K tonnes, which was approx. 37% of total imports in 2017. The UK (162K tonnes) ranks second in terms of the global imports with a 12% share, followed by the Netherlands (9.2%), Belgium (6.8%), the Czech Republic (5.4%) and France (5.3%). The following importers - Poland (54K tonnes), Austria (42K tonnes), Sweden (37K tonnes), Denmark (28K tonnes) and Bulgaria (20K tonnes) together made up 14% of total imports.

Germany experienced a relatively flat trend pattern of cucumbers and gherkins imports. At the same time, Bulgaria (+10.3% from 2007-2017), Belgium (+8.6%), Poland (+7.2%), Austria (+6.3%), the Netherlands (+5.8%), Sweden (+3.1%), the UK (+2.0%) and France (+1.1%) displayed positive paces of growth. Moreover, Bulgaria emerged as the fastest growing importer in the European Union. By contrast, Denmark and the Czech Republic experienced a relatively flat trend pattern. 

In value terms, Germany ($565M) constitutes the largest market for imported cucumbers and gherkins in the European Union, comprising 40% of global imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by the UK ($196M), with a 14% share of global imports. It was followed by the Netherlands, with a 9.7% share.

Import Prices by Country

In 2017, the cucumber and gherkin import price in the European Union amounted to $1.1 per kg, surging by 4% against the previous year. The the cucumber and gherkin import price continues to indicate a relatively flat trend pattern. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2013, when the import price increased by 10% year-to-year. In that year, the import prices for cucumbers and gherkins attained their peak level of $1.2 per kg. From 2014 to 2017, the growth in terms of the import prices for cucumbers and gherkins failed to regain its momentum.

There were significant differences in the average import prices amongst the major importing countries. In 2017, the country with the highest import price was Sweden ($1.4 per kg), while Bulgaria ($439 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.

From 2007 to 2017, the most notable rate of growth in terms of import prices was attained by the Czech Republic (+0.7% per year), while the other leaders experienced mixed trends in the import price figures.

Source: IndexBox AI Platform