Momentum again in the organic market in the Netherlands

In 2007, consumer spending in the Netherlands on organic food rose in 2007 by 13% to 519 million Euros. Total expenditure on food increased in the same period by 6.7% to 26 billion Euros. The market share of organic products grew from 1.9% at the end of 2006 to 2% at the end of 2007. In the case of fresh products, the market share was 2.5% compared with 2.3% at the end of 2006. This information is contained in the current report by Bio Monitor 2007 that was published recently by the organisation Biologica.

Picture: Groenhof

All sales channels have profited from the growth in consumer spending on organic products. In the catering sector expenditure was particularly high at 34%. Spending in the supermarkets rose by 15 % and by 9.5 % in the wholefood retail sector. Other channels experienced growth of 14 %. Consumers can now find organic products in the most varied shops, which means organics have become increasingly available. In the case of organic bread, for example, just under 57 % is sold via the conventional retail trade, 21 % by the specialist trade, 17 % via catering facilities and 5 % through other sales channels. (Picture: Organic For You)

Spending on fresh organic potatoes, vegetables and fruit rose by around 12 % to 135 million Euros and market share increased by 0.3 % to 3.8 %. Spending on organic meat increased too -  by 22.4 % to 49 million Euros and the market share of organic meat rose from 1.6 % to 1.9 %. Demand for organic eggs increased sharply, especially in the supermarkets – 24 % growth in turnover to about 12 million Euros. The market share of organic eggs rose from 4.7 % to 5.4 %.

In 2007, there was a sharp increase in the number of farms and horticultural holdings certified by the SKAL Foundation. The experts at Bio Monitor say that this is what is needed if the rapidly rising demand is to be met. It is expected that demand will soon exceed supply. Many companies can see that the growth in demand will be sustained, which in turn could encourage more conversion of agricultural land to organic. Exports are continuing to grow too, because organic products from the Netherlands are in demand abroad. The turnover of export goods increased significantly: the volume sent, for example, to Germany rose by 18 %.

Accounting for 2 % of total spending on organic food in the EU, the Netherlands are in the middle, ahead of Great Britain and Italy (1.6 % each) and France (1.1 %). In the lead is Denmark, with 5.1 % at the end of 2006 – the country with the biggest market share of organics. (Picture: Ekoplaza)

The 30-page Bio Monitor annual report 2007 can be downloaded here free of charge in PDF format.