Why choose Bulbiverse for your fresh garlic supply?
1. Complete short circuit – from the field to your receiving dock
At Bulbiverse, garlic is produced, harvested, and packaged directly by our market gardening partners, without any intermediaries. You benefit from perfectly stable producer prices and rigorous quality control (size, dry matter content, health status, batch consistency).
2. B2B logistics optimized for ultra-fresh products
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Real-time inventory: Daily availability updates. During peak season, it is recommended to pre-order your quantities 4 to 8 weeks in advance to secure your harvest schedule.
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Custom packaging: wooden crates, Girsac, pallet, IFCO or bulk pallets – we adapt the format to your supply chain to avoid compaction and heating.
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Flexible Incoterms: DAP or FCA of your choice; possibility of dedicated truck charter or refrigerated groupage.
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Proactive monitoring: continuous tracking (geolocation + temperature recorder) provided by our teams.
3. Technical expertise in alliums
Bulbiverse offers its expertise to greengrocers, retailers, and processors. Our team supports you with:
- the varietal choice according to your markets
- mastery of short-term storage (hygrometry/ventilation management and prevention of post-harvest pathogens).
4. Guarantees & customer reviews
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Google Rating: 5/5
Freshness, responsiveness and traceability are the most cited points.
How to order from Bulbiverse?
Request your personalized quote today – response within 48 hours for a batch of fresh garlic:
Wholesale account opening in less than 24 hours, with no activation fees, and a customized quote tailored to your volumes.
Professional fresh garlic market: growth and strategic challenges
The French garlic market, and more specifically that of fresh garlic intended for professionals, is experiencing notable vitality. National production has shown steady growth, rising from 28,000 tonnes in 2022 to 29,485 tonnes in 2023 , with promising projections reaching 31,000 tonnes for 2025. At the same time, cultivated areas are expanding, demonstrating the commitment of the French sector.
Despite this positive dynamic, France maintains a structural trade deficit in garlic, with annual consumption estimated at between 35,000 and 40,000 tonnes . Our self-sufficiency rate is around 65% , which means that around a third of national consumption still comes from imports. The latter, although slightly down in 2023, remain dominated by Spain (67.1%), China (18.9%) and Argentina (7.1%).
It's important to note that imported volumes can exceed the national harvest, making France a net importer. As professionals, you are at the heart of this balance, ensuring the equilibrium between a high-quality national supply and the need for a continuous supply, particularly during the off-season.
Fresh garlic varieties most sought after by professionals
Varietal diversity characterizes the French fresh garlic market, meeting varied culinary uses and taste preferences among your restaurant and distributor customers.
Purple garlic: Germidour and Cadours AOP
Purple Garlic stands out, particularly the Germidour variety, which represents the largest cultivated area in France. Appreciated for its perfect balance between power and taste refinement, its firm and slightly melting texture makes it a popular product among professionals. Purple Garlic from Cadours , benefiting from a PDO since 2017, is particularly valued in the fresh segment.
Germidour is versatile, being able to be marketed fresh, semi-dry or dry, offering valuable flexibility for traders. Its slightly spicy taste and good adaptability to clay soils make it a reference, especially since it is free from the OYDV virus . On wholesale markets like Rungis, Cadours Purple Garlic enjoys particular recognition, responding to a growing demand for French origins. Its demand is even higher at the end of the year for the holidays.
White garlic: Messidrome and Messidor
White garlic, through varieties such as Messidrome and Messidor , also occupies an important place. White garlic, the most widespread type historically, is characterized by a powerful and pungent flavor, coupled with excellent storage capacity. Messidor, originating from Drôme, offers a mild taste and an early harvest from late May to July, with a high yield and good winter resistance. These white varieties are also suitable for fresh sale, in addition to their predominance in dry and semi-dry.
Pink garlic: Rose de Lautrec Label Rouge
Pink Garlic, although less widespread in area, is highly sought after for its mild and slightly sweet flavor. Pink Garlic from Tarn , and in particular the 'Rose de Lautrec' variety, which benefits from a Label Rouge and a PGI, is highly valued for its superior taste quality and its long post-harvest shelf life.
Early varieties: Primor and Précosem
Among the early and ultra-early varieties, Primor stands out as the benchmark for fresh garlic, reaching maturity around three weeks before Germidour and allowing harvesting from the end of April. Its bright purple color and its specificity for fresh or "green" sales are very popular with traders wishing to be present from the beginning of the season. Précosem offers an alternative to diversify the early offer, available from May.
French traders are increasingly favoring varieties of French origin, responding to consumer demand for short supply chains and sometimes rejecting controversial origins, such as Chinese garlic. Varieties bearing Official Quality and Origin Labels (SIQO) such as AOP, PGI, or Label Rouge are major assets for standing out on the market, enhancing the product and reassuring professional buyers about its origin and intrinsic quality. These quality-labeled products generally command higher prices and generate significant interest.
Forms of marketing favored by traders
The fresh garlic market for professionals comes in several forms, each adapted to the specific needs of your wholesale customers, restaurants or purchasing centers.
Whole calibrated heads
Whole heads of garlic are the most commonly sold form. The bulbs are calibrated by diameter and can be sold in bulk (5 or 10 kg boxes) or in pre-packaged fillets (for example, fillets of 3 heads for large-scale distribution). Traders and restaurateurs often favor large calibers (such as 60-80 mm) , as they are easier to handle and peel in professional kitchens. The share of bulk in supermarkets is also tending to increase slightly, reflecting the consumer's search for the lowest price and the rationalization of references by distributors.
Garlic in bunches "early"
Bunched garlic, or "fresh early garlic," appears early in the season, usually from June to July . Harvested with its green stem and roots, this "green" or "fresh garlic in tops" offers a milder flavor and a tender texture, characterized by a high water content. Its shelf life is limited to a few days, making it a product marketed quickly after harvest, mainly through wholesale markets and specialized retailers. Although volumes in this segment remain modest, it is a very popular product locally during peak season.
Peeled garlic 4th range
For professionals in the catering and food industry, peeled and packaged garlic is extremely sought after. Available vacuum-packed (bare cloves in bags under atmosphere) , in frozen puree or in buckets of ready-to-use cloves, these 4th range products offer considerable time savings in the kitchen. Although they face competition from industrially dehydrated or frozen garlic, restaurateurs remain attached to ready-to-use fresh garlic for its superior aromatic quality. This type of product, often made from imported garlic at a low price for processors, justifies a higher price per kilo due to its practicality.
Specialized packaging
Other specific packaging is also available for B2B sales or export. Garlic braids , particularly for pink garlic or traditional smoked garlic such as Arleux smoked garlic, provide added artisanal value and are highly valued on the markets. 500g to 1kg mesh bags meet the needs of certain wholesalers, and palletized loose garlic is popular with the industry. It should be noted that Category I dominates the fresh supply, while Category II, with its visual defects, tends to disappear from supermarket shelves, although it can still find buyers via certain wholesalers at reduced prices.
Seasonality, supply and quality criteria
Managing seasonality is a key factor for fresh garlic. The availability of garlic from France is seasonal, with harvests beginning in mid-June in the Southeast (Drôme, Vaucluse) and late June-July in the Southwest (Occitanie) . "New" garlic thus arrives on the market from July-August.
Availability calendar
During the fall, dried French garlic still dominates the shelves, with a continuous presence until the end of the year, and a peak of interest in December for the holidays. However, French stocks decrease during the winter, especially for early varieties such as purple garlic, and the French season generally ends before spring, in February .
In spring, from March to June , a slow period for French origin sets in, making supplies massively dependent on imports. Spain, with its availability almost all year round, and Argentina in the off-season, become the main suppliers. Egyptian and Chinese garlic can also enter the European market in early summer if necessary. This organization guarantees a year-round supply, but underlines the heavy dependence on foreign sources in late spring.
Price list and valuation
Fresh garlic prices fluctuate considerably depending on quality, origin, and production method. Organic garlic sells for around €5.30/kg at the producer , while conventional garlic sells for around €3.50/kg . Fresh garlic prices are generally higher at the beginning of the season, before decreasing as volumes arrive.
In 2023, despite a high-quality harvest, prices were marked by a sharp decline due to intense competition from low-cost Chinese and Egyptian garlic imports. It is worth noting that at Rungis at the end of 2023, French category I purple garlic retained a significant premium (€5-6/kg) over Spanish white garlic (€3.5-4/kg) , highlighting the perceived value of French origin and quality. French organic white garlic is even valued at over €8/kg wholesale .
Professional quality standards
As professional buyers, your quality requirements are precise: fresh garlic must be sorted, rooted, and brushed to meet professional market standards. Freshness, impeccable visual appearance, and the absence of defects are essential criteria for fresh garlic.
Distribution channels and promotion through quality marks
Fresh garlic distribution channels for professionals are diverse and organized. Producers are often grouped into cooperatives or producer organizations (POs) that centralize sorting, packaging, and marketing. These organizations sell directly to central purchasing offices for large-scale retailers and to wholesalers at wholesale markets.
National Interest Markets (MIN) like Rungis play a key role in redistributing garlic to retailers, greengrocers, and restaurants, with specialists like Paris Ail offering a full range of packaging. Other regional MINs also contribute to the sale of domestic and imported batches.
Specialized condiment wholesalers and import traders ensure off-season supplies and distribution to restaurants and industry. At the same time, a minority of marketing is done through short supply chains, with farm producers selling directly from their farms or at local markets, particularly for early fresh garlic and regionally labeled products.
SIQO labels and certifications
France has five garlic productions under SIQO :
- Lautrec pink garlic (Label Rouge and PGI)
- Lomagne white garlic (PGI)
- Garlic from Drôme (PGI)
- Arleux Smoked Garlic (PGI)
- Cadours purple garlic (PDO)
These labels are powerful selling points, promoting French origin and quality and helping to differentiate these products from competition from low-cost standard garlic imports.
Market outlook and trends: organic and French origin
The fresh garlic market is undergoing underlying trends that you, as wholesalers and traders, must take into account. The growing preference for French sources is a reality, responding to consumer demand for short supply chains and local products. This dynamic is accompanied by a notable growth in organic farming.
Expanding biological segment
Organic garlic consumption in France is estimated at between 3,000 and 4,000 tonnes per year , or around 10% of the total market . However, domestic organic production only covers a fraction of this demand (600 to 700 tonnes) , leading to large imports of organic garlic, particularly from Spain, Italy and China. Distributors, including conventional ones, are demanding more French organic garlic to meet this specific demand.
The producer price for organic garlic is attractive, but agronomic constraints are still holding back its growth. Nevertheless, the growth potential for organic and local garlic is undeniable, driven by consumers' attention to the origin and production method, provided the price differential remains reasonable.
Regulatory and technical challenges
The French industry also faces technical and regulatory challenges, including the ban on certain phytosanitary products in France , which could create distortions in competition with other producing countries. The industry is requesting support to compensate for these constraints and adapt marketing standards, for example by better promoting visually imperfect batches.
