Nutrada, a European B2B website, on millets
Nutrada https://nutrada.com/ , which is based in the Netherlands, bills itself as the "B2B Food Ingredient Marketplace," with a further description as "the search engine for the B2B food industry, where we connect buyers with reputable suppliers through our highly detailed ingredient & company database." I recently came across their webpage on millets, entitled "Types of Millet: Pearl, Finger, Foxtail, Proso and Barnyard" https://nutrada.com/blog/types-of-millet (last updated 22 April 2026), and thought I'd share it along with some observations. First, the page has a good intro: "Millets are a diverse group of small-seeded grasses cultivated primarily in semi-arid regions of Asia and Africa. The five commercially significant types for European food manufacturers are pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), and barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea). Each has different origin profiles, culinary applications, and commercial availability. Nutrada lists GFSI-certified millet suppliers across Indian, African, and Eastern European origins, searchable by certification, processing form, and minimum order quantity." The page touches on: the diversity of millets, including profiles of the 5 mentioned above; some nutritional aspects, in general & per millet; internatonal sources; regulatory framework in the European Union (EU); tips on B2B sourcing; and some frequently asked questions. In general, a good overview with useful details. A couple of suggestions: * In repeating the often-cited stats about largest producing countries, it might offer the clarification that the "basket" of different millets produced in them differs or is dissimilar (the name "millet" creates its own reality) * The "Where is millet produced?" heading (which more helpfully would be "Where are millets produced?") has only three headings: India, Africa, and China. Mention of North America and 3 countries in East Europe/Central Asia might better have been given their own subheadings. * The description of millets as "small-seeded grasses" is technically correct. Howevere, unless a reader is aware that all cereal grains are also grasses, it could lead to their dismissing them as grass-seed - again technically correct, but unhelpful for efforts to popularize them as food grains. Part of the reason for sharing is the thought that this kind of prsentation might be useul in our region, and a question about how it might integrate or work in tandem with The Rhyzosphere. The Nutrada page is oriented to international wholesale importation of millets, which may not be as important in North America. In the US, at least, a significant quantity of imports of millets and millet products are consumer packaged goods, plus there seems to be a degree of packagingn from wholesale imports. These are mainly from India (coverina a variety of millets), or China (2-4 millets,depending on how you define them) and are handled by separate networks of importers/packagers; while fonio is imported largely by one company. All that said, I see a need for more clarity on the millets import sector as a whole and in detail in our region of the world. Your thoughts and feedback are invited, Don Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance PS- Nutrada has a page on "Millet Bulk Suppliers — Wholesale Grain, Flour & Flakes" at https://nutrada.com/products/grains/millet-wholesale (which only discusses proso, pearl, foxtail & finger), and one on "Sorghum Suppliers - Wholesale & Bulk" at https://nutrada.com/products/grains/sorghum-wholesale
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Don Osborn