- [Narrator] Once considered peasant food in South America,
quinoa is now a pricey global superfood,
thanks to its highly nutritional qualities.
And these days, quinoa can cost twice as much as rice.
But it's royal quinoa, or quinoa real,
that is the gold standard of quinoa.
And it has sold for even more,
with black royal quinoa
going for $8,000 per metric ton in 2011.
The price has, at times, climbed so high
that many locals could no longer afford to eat it.
(Raul speaking in foreign language)
So what makes royal quinoa different from other quinoa?
And why is it so expensive?
While different varieties of quinoa
now grow all over the world,
royal quinoa only grows in southern Bolivia,
near the Salar de Uyuni salt desert.
It grows larger than other quinoas
and it's considered to be even more nutritious.
(Raul speaking in foreign language)
Here, at 3,600 meters above sea level,
farmers still use traditional methods to harvest quinoa.
Bolivia's mountainous terrain
means it's difficult to modernize production.
But the farmers also follow tradition
to honor the earth and their ancestors.
(Edgar speaking in foreign language)
The farmers drive over the quinoa
with tractors to thresh it,
or to separate the grains from the stems.
Because of the high altitude,
everything is done early in the morning
to avoid the humidity.
After the threshing, the quinoa is taken to be sifted,
which removes any remaining stems.
This usually takes place in the afternoon
and depends on wind conditions.
The quinoa needs to have all its saponin removed as well.
Saponin is a bitter-tasting chemical
that protects the outer shell of quinoa seeds
from pests and disease.
Royal quinoa also has a lot more saponin
than other quinoa varieties,
which is what allows it to grow in such extreme conditions.
It also means cleaning the quinoa for consumption
is a lot more time-consuming.
The saponin has to be either thoroughly washed off
or removed via special machines
that won't damage the grains.
And then it's time for the grains
to be separated for processing.
While some of this is done by machine,
many parts can still only be done by hand.
This intense process drives up labor costs.
(Jose speaking in foreign language)
Because royal quinoa production
happens on a relatively small scale,
when global demand for quinoa first started ramping up
in 2006, prices skyrocketed.
In just five years, royal quinoa tripled in price
on the international market, hitting $3,200 per metric ton.
The colored varieties of royal quinoa
are even more expensive.
Red royal quinoa has sold for around $4,500 a metric ton
and black royal quinoa nearly twice that.
The UN even declared 2013 the Year of Quinoa
to celebrate its health benefits and growing popularity,
which only increased worldwide demand for it.
Many Bolivians moved back to their rural hometowns
to grow quinoa to take advantage of the profitable crop.
In just six years,
Bolivia's quinoa fields more than doubled in size.
And many farmers stopped following the traditional method
of allowing the land to rest every other year.
The profits from royal quinoa were life-changing.
People were able to build new houses
and send their kids to school.
Quinoa's hefty price tag, however,
meant some Bolivians could no longer afford to eat it.
(Raul speaking in foreign language)
But why was quinoa selling for so much?
Well, in recent years, there's been widespread global demand
for healthier food.
And there is no healthier food than quinoa.
UNESCO even named it the Perfect Food for Humanity
because it's gluten-free
and has all nine essential amino acids.
NASA's astronauts eat quinoa
during long space missions because the gluten-free grain
is so packed with fiber, protein, and vitamins,
and is a great substitute for animal meat.
Quinoa also contains phytoestrogens,
which are thought to help prevent cancer and other diseases.
And since royal quinoa is one of the largest varieties,
it's considered to be even more nutritious.
So Bolivia's royal quinoa crops were extremely valuable.
But the international demand for quinoa
and unprecedented profits that came with it
have spelled disaster for Bolivia's share
of the quinoa market.
The rush to produce more quinoa
has caused severe soil erosion and infertility.
(Raul speaking in foreign language)
Many farmers have been focusing on quinoa
instead of rotating it with other crops or livestock,
which has drained the soil of nutrients.
And with fewer farmers raising llamas,
there's less manure to fertilize the land.
Recent droughts and storms
have also damaged Bolivia's royal quinoa crops.
(Raul speaking in foreign language)
So production is down and the quinoa plants themselves
are much smaller than usual.
And despite the high demands and low supply,
prices have been falling.
(Raul speaking in foreign language)
Other countries growing quinoa
have more modern technology than Bolivia,
so their crops haven't been as affected
by weather conditions.
Peru has taken Bolivia's spot
as the world's top producer of quinoa.
And even though Peru does not grow royal quinoa,
and in fact no other country in the world can,
most consumers aren't aware of the difference.
The price of royal quinoa has dropped
from $294 per 100 kilograms to just $83.
Bolivia went from exporting 30,000 metric tons of quinoa
in 2014 for $200 million,
to 33,000 metric tons for $81 million in 2018.
Farmers are operating at a loss and they're unable to invest
in the equipment they would need to modernize.
The fall in quinoa prices, however,
has reintroduced quinoa into many Bolivians' diets.
(Raul speaking in foreign language)
Bolivia is also looking to rebuild a market
for its royal quinoa.
After all, the global quinoa market
is valued at around $90 billion
and it's expected to grow to nearly $150 billion by 2026.
In 2020, Bolivia's royal quinoa industry
successfully obtained a protected designation of origin.
This will help brand royal quinoa as a high-quality product
you can only get from Bolivia.
Similar to Spain's Iberico ham
or Italy's San Marzano tomatoes.
Ideally, this will improve royal quinoa sales
on the international market.
And allow producers to raise their prices.
Which will, in turn,
allow farmers to modernize their methods
while staying sustainable.
(Raul speaking in foreign language)