Bolivia’s Quinoa Conundrum

Pedestaled by the Andes at 12,000 ft above sea level, Bolivia is one of the most closed off countries in the world. Since coming to office in 2005, President Evo Morales has increased the isolation by implementing a range of measures to discourage foreign investment; most recently, on May 1 he announced the nationalization of Spanish electricity company REE. Politics only presses home what geography suggests—Bolivia isn’t on the cutting edge of anything.

Yet, what few natural resources Bolivia possesses exist in such abundance that the country could conceivably shape the global market. Recent consumer trends in the US and Europe have created immense demand for these resources, chiefly lithium and quinoa. Sadly, the Morales government has frittered away its opportunity to cash in on the rise in demand for hybrid car batteries by nationalizing all lithium mines. As a result, GM, Toyota and other carmakers now get their lithium from Argentina and Chile.

Quinoa is a different story, though. Feted as “the Inca super food,” quinoa has more protein than grains and includes all eight amino acids essential for tissue development. Its popularity has soared of late, thanks to a health food craze in America and Europe and usage by celebrity chefs like Giada De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay. Prices have soared, up three fold over the past five years to $1 per lb.

The Morales government has tried in earnest to manage export of the product. However, its success in accommodating small-scale farmers so that they can cash in on rising global demand has made the staple unaffordable for many Bolivians. In turn, the government is offering $10 million in low-interest loans to farmers to help make the food cheaper domestically.

TIME recently published an article suggesting that trouble may be brewing in the form of a quinoa bubble, quoting a food policy expert that, “Quinoa is now a free-market phenomenon. This is a boom, and there’s definitely going to be a bust.”

I’m not too worried about this, because 1) quinoa is still a niche product and there’s plenty of room for it to grow into the dietary mainstream, and 2) a bust would have ample silver lining as Bolivians could once again get their preferred foodstuff at an affordable price.

Rather, my concern is that Bolivia is again getting left behind as the world finds a way to adapt one of its products. It goes to reason that a foodstuff hearty enough to grow in craggy highlands of Bolivia can grow just about anywhere, and that’s just what is happening.  A seed company manager told London’s Independent newspaper last year: “We only have 180 packets of quinoa seeds left in stock this year. It’s quite popular because it’s a very adaptable plant and easier to thresh than wheat. It’s resistant to the cold at night which helps it grow here.”