Superfood baobab powder The latest health trend comes from Africa

The fruit of the mighty baobab trees has been on the table in Africa since time immemorial. Baobab powder is now experiencing a boom in Europe and the USA. This year, however, particularly little is being received by local collectors.

Loveness Bhitoni has been collecting the fruit of the majestic baobab trees that surround her family's home in north-eastern Zimbabwe since she was a child. The pulp has always complemented the meals of maize and millet. The baobab fruit is now increasingly appreciated in Europe, the USA and China and has become a source of income for Bhitoni. However, the climate crisis is putting pressure on the business.

It is no coincidence that baobab has developed into a globally traded and well-known superfood," says plant expert Gus Le Breton, a pioneer in the baobab industry. He still remembers the many safety and toxicological tests that were necessary to convince the authorities in Europe and the USA to approve the plant.

Proven positive effect

"That was ridiculous, because the baobab fruit has been consumed safely in Africa for thousands of years," emphasizes the botanist, who specializes in African plants that are used as food and medicine.

The fruit of the baobab tree has a lot to offer here: It is a source of vitamins, has antioxidants and important minerals. Positive health effects have been proven in studies. Around eight years ago, the EU approved the import of baobab powder as a food and drink ingredient, followed by the USA a year later.

Devastating drought affects baobabs

Loveness Bhitoni gets up before dawn to collect the baobab fruit. She sells the sacks to buyers in the city or directly to factories that process the fruit pulp and seeds. Six years ago, the baobab trade found its way into her village of Kotwa. In the past, the money from the business was enough to buy clothes and pay for the children's schooling. In the meantime, the families can barely buy the most necessary food. The recent catastrophic drought has even affected the baobabs, which have defied the dry conditions.

"We can only buy maize and salt," says Bhitoni after a long day of harvesting. "Cooking oil is a luxury because there is simply not enough money. Sometimes I can't buy a bar of soap for a whole month. Not to mention school fees or children's clothes."

Yet tens of thousands of inhabitants of the African baobab regions now rely on the trade in the coveted fruit. The industry association African Baobab Alliance has set itself the goal of more than one million women in southern Africa benefiting from the harvest and sale of the fruit, which can grow up to almost half a meter tall, by 2030.

Together with China, the USA and Europe are currently the largest markets for baobab powder. According to the Dutch Center for Import Promotion, the global market could reach a volume of ten billion dollars (around nine billion Swiss francs) by 2027.

A kilogram of baobab powder can be bought in Germany, for example, for around 30 euros (CHF 28.50). The ingredient finds its way into snack bars as well as drinks or is sprinkled into muesli or yogurt. Companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi have even introduced product lines with baobab ingredients.

Collectors like Loveness Bhitoni can only dream of being able to afford such products. Bhitoni gets just 15 cents for a kilo of fruit - and the mighty baobabs currently yield very little.

"We can't defend ourselves because we're hungry"

"The fruit is in high demand, but the trees are not producing much this year, so I sometimes come home without having filled a single sack," says the 50-year-old. "I need five sacks to have enough money for a 10-kilo packet of maize meal."

Some buyers offer maize flour in direct exchange for fruit, but on poor terms, she says. "It's hard work, but the buyers don't understand."

The collectors often have no choice but to take up the offer, adds Kingstone Shero from the local community council. "The buyers dictate the prices to us and we have no way of fighting back because we are hungry."