Organics boom in Austria

The organic industry in Austria is registering strong growth – in the first four months of 2010 sales rose by 40 % in comparison with the same period last year. Not only the retail food trade but also direct marketers have been the beneficiaries. There has been high demand for milk, fruit and vegetables in particular. As part of the campaign “Wir sind Bio 2007 – 2010” (We are organic 2007 – 2010) more promotion days were organized in September. Also, a map of organic users across the whole country was presented. (Picture: Dr. Stephan Mikinovic, CEO of AMA Marketing, Niki Berlakovich, Minister for Agriculture and the Environment, Rudi Vierbauch, Head of Bio-Austria)Compared with the first four months of last year, sales of organics in Austria rose by 40 % in 2010 (01/10 – 04/10: 42,900 t). In parallel, turnover rose by 30 % to 110.5 million euros. “We were striving for an organic share of 20 % by 2010 and we have achieved it,” says the Minister for Agriculture and the Environment, Niki Berlakovich, about the land area under organic management. “In order to meet the future demand of consumers, I am continuing to focus on organic agriculture.”

Having experienced long-term growth, the organic market stagnated for the first time in 2008 and 2009 on account of the economic crisis and rising food prices, but this was followed at the end of 2009 and in the first few months of 2010 by a real boom in organic purchases by Austrian households. From January to April 2010 Austrians bought 50 % more organic milk, organic yoghurt and organic cheese and butter than in the same period last year. In the case of fresh organic fruit, sales rose by 29 % and turnover by 27 % and in the case of fresh organic vegetables, the volume rose by 33 % and the value by 38 %.

Two-fifths of all households are responsible for four-fifths of organic turnover in the retail food trade. We can even refer to 7 % as ‘heavy users of organics’, since more than 20 % of the food they buy is organic. “That’s a very positive development,” says the head of Bio-Austria Rudi Vierbauch. “We organic farmers are providing what people want in a complete package – sustainable and GM-free food from regional organic production.”

Organic turnover currently equates to 8 % of market volume in Austria, and the trend is rising. The organic export campaign, that has already been launched in collaboration with AMA Marketing, is an important measure to establish Austria’s organic quality abroad and to open up new markets in Europe for the future.

The campaign “Wir sind Bio 2007 – 2010” provides information on a broad basis across the whole of Austria. It is financed by AMA Marketing, the Ministry of Food and the European Commission. The aim of this organic campaign is to ensure that consumers are better informed and thus to sustainably stimulate the sales of organics.

Dr Stephan Mikinovic, CEO of AMA, comments: “We know from current market research that the reason why people don’t buy organics is the high price compared with conventional products. On the other hand, people are prepared to invest a lot for the sake of their health. People who are aware of the positive effects of organic products, and who know about the input on the part of farmers to produce organics and how sustainable organic agriculture is in terms of the environment – these people are more than willing to pay a fair price. In this sense the campaign is shifting the focus from price, and we are gaining new consumers for organics.”

In 2009 a campaign for young mothers was launched. Around 100,000 new mothers were given a measuring rod with full information about the importance of organic nutrition from baby to toddler age. The baby pack was accompanied by an advertising campaign in family media. As well as young mothers, teachers in kindergartens and primary schools are highly committed opinion formers on the subject of food. Against this background, the project “Bio-Schatztruhe” (Organic Treasure Chest) was launched for colleges training kindergarten teachers. Future kindergarten and nursery staff developed teaching materials for the topic organic nutrition. More than 70 projects were submitted, and at the end of 2009 the winners were selected. The best projects were reproduced, and in the spring of 2010 they were sent free of charge in the form of an “Organic Treasure Chest” to about 2,000 kindergartens all over Austria.

The organic promotion days are the annual highlight of the information campaign – this year they were held all over the country on two weekends from 9 – 18 September. By organizing lots of tastings, organic parties, info-activities and handing out organic milk, the idea is to get people to buy more organics. More than 100 organic ambassadors invited people to enjoy organics. In all the regional capitals in Austria, they distribute free organic milk and “Wir sind Bio” lottery tickets (picture). At 15 organic information points, female organic farmers answered the questions put to them by the public. And there was a free organic ceramic muesli bowl for all bio-fans. (Pictures: Organic campaign days)

Because of the huge success of the organic cookery brochures, for the campaign days in 2010 the AMA organic Cookery Diary, with more than 90 organic recipes, was compiled in collaboration with representatives of gastronomy in Austria. You also had a chance of winning the map of organic users in Austria that invites you to take a culinary journey through local gastronomy. Many restaurateurs have decided in recent years to offer their guests food from organic agriculture. (Picture: “Wir sind Bio” campaign days thrill young and old)

On the map of organic users in Austria are marked 102 restaurants and hotels. The map had a print run of 47,000 copies and can be obtained free of charge from the AMA webshop here. “Lots of guests feel that dishes using organic food are something special,” is how Stephan Mikinovic, CEO of AMA Marketing, explains the motivation for a map of this kind.
Austrians can look forward to the organic campaign days in the autumn in the years ahead too. AMA Marketing has succeeded in guaranteeing an organic information campaign for the next three years. The EU has already promised its support.

In spite of the economic crisis, organic turnover in Austria reached a new record high of 984.2 million euros in 2009. The industry is delighted with growth in turnover of up to 15 %. “Plus 2 % in the year of the economic downturn” and “growth in turnover of around 8 %” are typical statements by the big chains about the last financial year. Total organic turnover in the retail food trade in 2009 is estimated to be 657 million euros. Wholefood stores, organic supermarkets and health food shops with some organic products registered lower growth. The total turnover of the specialist organic trade came to around 140 million euros in 2009. The catering sector experienced a very successful year. Suppliers of catering establishments, canteens, gastronomy and hotels increased their turnover in 2009 by about 15 % to approximately 50 million euros.

Direct marketing by farmers grew by 5 – 10 %, and turnover is estimated at about 70 million euros. Whilst exports in the dairy sector declined once again, exporters of food grains, dry goods, fruit and wine recorded double-digit growth in turnover. Growth of exports is estimated to be about 10 % in 2009, which equates to a turnover of 66 million euros. (Picture: Basic’s organic supermarket in Salzburg)

For Hubert Zamut, head of market development at Bio-Austria, organics are definitely one of the stable trends in the food market: “According to the current market research by RollAMA, the retail food trade as a whole recorded a drop in turnover of 0.7 % in the fresh food segment. In the organic segment, the development of both volumes and turnover has been positive and contrary to this general trend. In spite of this pleasing market development, however, the producer prices of the organic farming industry have been under massive pressure for quite some time because of the chains making a big effort to create their own distinctive profile. (Picture: Basic organic supermarket in Vienna)