Europe's Coir Supply Map: What 2024 Trade Data Shows About Supplier Concentration in the Netherlands and Germany

European growing media producers are moving away from peat, and coir is one of the constituents they are adding.[7][9] The question for a procurement manager is not whether coir demand exists, but where that coir currently comes from and how concentrated the supply base is.

This article reads the 2024 UN Comtrade import records for the Netherlands and Germany, the two largest coir entry points in continental Europe, and sets out what the numbers mean for a buyer planning supply security.[1][2]

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A Note on the Trade Code Before the Numbers

Coir is reported under HS 530500, a subheading that also covers abaca, ramie and other vegetable textile fibres not elsewhere specified.[4] The figures below are therefore an upper bound for coir, not a clean coir-only count, and buyers should treat the totals as indicative rather than exact.[4]

Import values reported by the Netherlands and Germany are CIF values, while Indonesian export values are FOB, so the two cannot be compared one-to-one.[1][3] The world totals for both importers are flagged by Comtrade as estimated weights.[1][2]

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Netherlands: One Origin Supplies Seven Tonnes in Ten

The Netherlands reported 55,043 tonnes of HS 530500 imports in 2024, with a CIF value of USD 27.95 million.[1] India alone supplied 38,808 tonnes, or 70.5% of that volume.[1] Sri Lanka supplied 4,761 tonnes (8.6%).[1] Indonesia supplied 24.95 tonnes, which is 0.045% of Dutch imports.[1]

Germany: Same Pattern, Partly Routed Through Rotterdam

Germany reported 22,452 tonnes of HS 530500 imports in 2024, with a CIF value of USD 10.72 million.[2] India supplied 11,930 tonnes (53.1%), Sri Lanka 4,229 tonnes (18.8%), and the Netherlands 4,204 tonnes (18.7%).[2] Indonesia does not appear as a partner in the German 2024 record.[2]

The Dutch line in the German data is a reminder that part of Germany's coir arrives after passing through the Netherlands, so origin concentration is likely higher than the direct figures alone suggest.[2]

Shares are calculated from the Comtrade net weights for each partner against the reported world total.[1][2] Partner names are resolved against Comtrade's own partner area reference.[5]

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Where Indonesian Coir Goes Instead

Indonesia is not a small coir exporter: it shipped 36,549 tonnes under HS 5305 in 2025, at an FOB value of USD 7.61 million.[3] China took 26,478 tonnes of that, or 72.4%.[3]

In other words, Indonesia's coir trade is already concentrated on one destination, just as Europe's is concentrated on one origin.[1][3] The two concentrations do not overlap, which is the commercial opening this data points to.

For a price reference, the International Coconut Community release dated 10 October 2026 lists Indonesian coir pith at USD 410 per tonne FOB and Indonesian coir fibre at USD 105 per tonne FOB.[6] Those are commodity benchmarks for loose material, not quotes for washed or buffered compressed blocks.[6]

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Why Concentration Matters to Peat-Free Producers Now

Klasmann-Deilmann reports that alternative raw materials reached 30.0% of its production in 2025, up from 14.8% in 2020, and it aims for 50 per cent by 2030.[7] The company lists cocos among the constituents it is gradually increasing.[7] Its cooperation with Shakti Cocos was framed as a way to secure its own supply of constituents for substrate production.[8]

Stender has committed publicly to a peat-free target under its Mission Torffrei 2028 programme.[9]

When large producers lock in supply through partnerships, mid-sized substrate makers are left competing for the remaining volume from the same dominant origin.[8] A second origin does not replace an existing supplier; it reduces exposure to a single country's weather, freight lane and export policy.

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Practical Checklist for a Second-Origin Coir Trial

1. Start with one container. Run a single-lot trial against your current incoming specification before committing volume.
2. Demand method-stated lab values. EC and pH figures are only comparable when the extraction ratio is declared on the sheet.
3. Ask for a sample lot report, not a brochure. It should match the lot you will receive.
4. Check phytosanitary documentation early. Confirm the destination's import conditions for coir before the first booking.
5. Price on delivered cost. Compare CIF landed cost per cubic metre of expanded substrate, not FOB price per tonne alone.

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Sourcing High-Spec Cocopeat from Sidoarjo, Indonesia

PT Ridha Dua Keluarga produces washed, compressed coir from its Indonesian cocopeat block plant in East Java, supplying substrate blenders and commercial growers who want a second origin alongside their existing coir supply.

Buyers evaluating a trial lot can request the current technical data sheet and a sample lot report through the export desk at [email protected] or via the inquiry form on this site.