Britain: Organic Sales hit £ 2 billion mark

On the occasion of the Organic Fortnight 2007, the Soil Association’s annual Organic Market Report was published. It showed that organic food and drink sales in the UK hit the £ 2 billion mark (€ 3 billion) for the first time in 2006, equalling a market growth rate of 22 % during that year. The retail market for organic products has grown by an average of 27 % a year during the last decade.

Retail sales of organic products through organic box schemes, mail order and other direct sales increased from ₤ 95 million (€ 140 million) to ₤ 146 million (€ 214 million), a growth of 53 % compared with 2005. This means growth is more than double that of the major supermarkets. Sales of organic baby food increased by 7 % to an estimated ₤ 78 million (114 million). The organic poultry market continued to expand rapidly with a plus of 39 %.

The health and beauty sectors have also experienced an enormous increase. In 2006, the number of health and beauty products licensed with the Soil Association rose by 30%. The market for organic cotton products also grew very fast. It is estimated that if the market for organic cotton products continues to grow at the same rate, it will be worth ₤ 107 million (€157 million) by next year.

This report also dealt with consumer behaviour. More than half of the people surveyed stated that they purchased organic fruit and vegetables during the previous year, one in four consumers bought organic meat or dairy products, and one in six purchased packaged organic goods. It is consumers living mainly in London, the South East, the South West and Wales who are the most likely to buy organics. When children under 15 are present in a household, a wider range of organic food is bought.

66 % of the organic primary produce sold by multiple retailers was sourced in the UK, mainly meat (79 %), dairy and eggs (96 %) and vegetables (73 %).  But some key items are still failing to meet domestic demand. Increasingly, organic cereals have to be imported, reports the Soil Association. The organic livestock sectors depend on organic feed, but less than 50 % could be supplied from within the country in 2006. This, however, could also be seen as a chance for current non-organic farmers to convert. The latest financial results of a survey of organic farms in England and Wales showed that the majority of organic farm types performed better financially than comparable non-organic farms in the periods 2003/04 and 2004/05.

Another aspect was that the cost of livestock feed was rising due to poor harvests, high demand from abroad and the increasing diversion of cereals into bio-fuel production. According to Helen Browning, The Soil Association’s Director of Food and Farming, the report shows a positive future for organic farming, but long-term challenges will have to be faced, like climate change and rising oil prices.

In terms of value, Europe has the largest market for organic foods in the world. The UK organic market is now the third largest in Europe after Germany and Italy. The organic share of the total food market is approximately 1.6 % in the UK.

There were 4,639 organic producers in January 2007, an annual increase of 7 %. Organic farms represent about 1.6 % of all farms in the UK. In January 2007, 613,470 ha of land were managed organically in the UK and now account for 3.5 % of the total agricultural land in the country. The land in conversion in the UK increased by 40 %. All countries are experiencing a significant growth. This is seen best in Scotland with 110 %, but also in England (24 %), Wales (20 %) and Northern Ireland (25 %).

The detailed "Organic market report 2007" can be purchased for 20  ₤ at info@soilassociation.org 

www.soilassociation.org