Saturday, February 12, 2011

Chicory roots, Cichorium intybus

Chicory is a perennial plant native of Europe and North Africa. It was  collected and grown since at least 4000 BC, and it was a popular food item  in ancient Egypt,  Rome and Greece. Now it is used mostly as a coffee substitute, ( a fad started by Napoleon once he blockaded British exports from the Caribs in 1806 , also the sugar  made from beets started  right there, but that's another story) and its roots are processed for inulin--a healthy starch alternative that is promoting good intestinal flora. Allegedly regular Chicory  eaters reduce  their colon cancer rates by 33%, which is a big deal if true. Fresh Chicory roots contain from 13 to 23% of inulin.
As of 2009 , 19 countries are producing Chicory root commercially, and traditionally the industry is dominated by Belgium, which is producing over  66% of the world crop. In 2008 Belgium produced 425  085 tonnes of chicory root, or about  39.26 kg  for every  resident.
In 2009, world crop was about  632 323 tonnes, that is about  91.7 grams per potential consumer.
Calorie content is  67 to 73 per 100 g so the world crop could supply  615 000 people with 2000 calories a day.There is  enough protein for 457 000 people at 50g/a day. Note that these numbers do not include leaves, flowers and endives that  you might get as by -product of Chicory root production.
17 303 hectares were used for Chicory root production in 2009, a territory the size of  Aruba.

French company Leroux S.A.S is the biggest  buyer and commercial  producer.Its a major exporter of chicory products to  over 50 countries,  95% of  US imports come  from Lerox. It was founded in 1840 and did nothing but chicory since 1871, for quite awhile.

Best crop ever (or at least since 1961) was in 2004 ( 1 018 348 t ). Worst, since 1961-- 190 070 t in 1972.

Best worldwide yields were in 2004 (38708.6 kg/ha) worst, since 1961-- 14148.9 kg/ha  in 1987.Record yield belongs to Belgium, 47458.4 kg/ha in 2008/09.

Land usage: growth of 2.09 % since 1961.

Roasted Chicory root costs about $650-800 per ton, in retail prices can be as high as $12-16 per pound.

World crop is worth about $ 500 million.


List of all articles at Ironrye:
 http://ironrye.blogspot.com/2011/10/list-of-all-articles-at-iron-rye.html

Production by country in tonnes                 2007           2008            2009
Belgium
Chicory roots
386307 425085
M
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Chicory roots
100F 100F
M
Cameroon
Chicory roots
140F 140F 140F
Croatia
Chicory roots
3100F 3100F
M
France
Chicory roots
110880 125475
M
Haiti
Chicory roots
200F 200F
M
Kazakhstan
Chicory roots
3000F 3000F
M
Philippines
Chicory roots
3700 3700F
M
Poland
Chicory roots
34633 30402 38347
Portugal
Chicory roots
2600 2600F
M
Puerto Rico
Chicory roots
5850F 5850F
M
Qatar
Chicory roots
100F 100F
M
Romania
Chicory roots

M
M
M
Russian Federation
Chicory roots

M
M
M
Serbia
Chicory roots
3500F 3500F
M
Slovakia
Chicory roots
368 25 26
South Africa
Chicory roots
16000F 16000F
M
Spain
Chicory roots
1600 1600F
M
Ukraine
Chicory roots
2000F 1700 3500
World + (Total)
Chicory roots
574078A 622577A 632323

My main sources are FAO.org, USDA.gov, CIA.gov, alibaba.com and many others.



9 comments:

  1. Wow some serious nutritional information going on here. The people who like to workout will find this an interesting read! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm currently working out and find this interesting

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  3. Interesting, but also very beautiful! Thanks for sharing this with us. http://hardupgamer.blogspot.com <- check out my blog (updated 2-3 times daily)

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  4. Wow, I dont understand anything about plants. Those look pretty though.

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  5. its amazing that plants can have such a impact on us and our health. very nice information about these little guys.

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  6. Wow, I didn't know that there was that much to know about foods. Thanks for the info!

    ReplyDelete