Quinoa selection

A FEW decades ago Peruvians looked down on quinoa, a fixture of Andean diets for centuries, as food for the poorest of the poor—when it was not being fed to chickens. Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, declared 2012 the “year of quinoa” to reverse discrimination against “Indian” foods.

Yet this protein-rich chenopod, a member of the spinach family, no longer needs Mr Morales's help. Thanks to a growing global appetite for organic foods, Bolivia earned $64m from quinoa exports in 2011, 36% more than in 2010. Peru banked $23m, almost twice as much as the year before. “Quinoa consumption in industrialised countries used to be a niche market, but…in the past few years we have seen a major leap in demand and pricing,” says Francisco Diez-Canseco of Grupo Orgánico Nacional, a Peruvian exporter. He says that the UN's decision to take a cue from Mr Morales and make 2013 the international year of quinoa could push foreign food firms to use it in their products.