Organic Food in Portugal

The organic processing and marketing sectors in Portugal have been favoured by the increase in the raw materials suppliers: the organic farming area grew by 63,562 hectares from 2004 to 2005. The number of certified hectares and producers has experienced a steady increase in recent years, as illustrated by the following table.

Picture: Organic Production in Portugal 1997 - 2005 

At the end of 2005, there were 233,458 ha registered, representing 6 % of the total cultivated area and the number of operators increased by 275 compared with the same period in 2004.

Alentejo, in Southern Portugal, became the most outstanding region of organic farming, both in terms of area (139,449 ha) and number of operators (622), followed by Beira Interior (48,808 ha and 272 operators). The third most important region was Trás-os-Montes with 18,549 ha and 379 certified operators.

Other influencing factors are:

- the relatively higher fragmentation of the organic sector in Portugal: there are more associations at regional and national level. Apart from the veteran Agrobio, there are more organised groups of producers and consumers, more certifiers, and also new wholesale companies and some retailers of note with shops or supermarkets in several parts of the country.

- changes in consumers' habits: Portuguese people are growing more conscious of health and the environment, which explains their rising interest in organics, especially wholefoods containing natural fruit and fibre. Increasing purchasing power is also encouraging this development.

- more active participation of different stakeholders in society: step by step, farmers, consumers, development agents and other players have been building a framework to sustain the development of organic farming in Portugal. There are, for example, post graduate courses, such as the one in Funchal (coordinated by the University of Madeira) or in Faro (coordinated by the University of Algarve). At the same time, agricultural colleges throughout the country are starting to offer tuition in organic farming.

Regarding the market promotion of organics, the most important fairs in Portugal are the annual event Terra Sã in Lisboa and in Porto and the Fair of Braga “Agro Braga”.

However, full consolidation of the organic sector has not as yet been achieved and, in spite of the latest improvements, the national organic market is not sufficiently organised to satisfy the internal demand and to provide market opportunities for all organic producers. Therefore, it is still the case that a significant percentage of the certified organic production in Portugal is sold in the conventional market, and at the same time most of the processed organic products consumed in the country are imported.

A study carried out by Organic Monitor Ltd on “The European Market for Organic Fruit & Vegetables” finds that there is relatively low consumer demand in Portugal, with most of the production commercialised as organic going to export markets.

Organic Processors:

The most typical Portuguese processed organic product is wine, followed by olive oil.
Regarding the regional distribution, it does not coincide 100 % with the regional distribution of producers, since the highest number of producers is in Alentejo, but the highest number of processors is in Tras-os-Montes (24.2 %) and Ribadejo Oeste (23.1 %) followed by Alentejo (10.5 %), and Entre Douro e Minho and Beira Litoral with 8.4 %. The regions with the least processing activity are Algarve (6.3 %) and Beira interior (1.0 %)

(Source: elaborated by the author based on data from the Ministry of Agriculture - IDRHa) 

Retailers mostly around the capital

The association Agrobio has listed 66 retail companies in Portugal, and most of them are situated in the Lisbon and Porto Metropolitan areas, although there are retailers in most cities and towns and also quite a significant number of points of direct sale on farms or at farmer markets.

The 66 retailers from the Agrobio list are distributed as follows:

46 specialised shops: only organic or natural product shops offering a range of certified organic products; some also with food to take away and/or restaurant.

8 stalls at municipal marketplaces and some specially dedicated organic food markets.

4 organisations specialised in direct sales by home delivery.

8 chain supermarkets or hypermarkets with sections dedicated to organic food.

Some names are repeated, because the same company operates simultaneously in different types of retailing or has several shops in different cities.

The trend for this year:

The organic market in Portugal in 2004 was estimated at 50 million euros, which represents less than1 % of the total consumption of organic products in the European Union. But it seems that in 2006 the effort made by farmers, consumers, development agents and other players has had some success in organising the sector. The latest news regarding the organisation of the organic sector in Portugal talks about the creation (on 12th December 2005) of a new organic umbrella association called INTERBIO. This organisation held it first Congress at the beginning of June 2006.

Address:
INTERBIO Associação Interprofissional para a Agricultura Biológica
Rua Pascoal de Melo, 49
1000-232 Lisboa
Telefone: 91 657 63 65
E-mail: interbio.bio@gmail.com

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Nuria Alonso for her checking and suggestions during the planning and writing of this series.

Bibliography
Fernando Serrador. – CERTIPLANET - Portugal.- Data provided by direct communication (interview). 2005 (http://www.certiplanet.pt)

Mafalda Carneiro – SATIVA – Portugal- Data provided by direct communication in 2005 and 2006 (http://www.sativa.pt)

Nuria Alonso. Portugal: Organic Production and Potential. The Organic Standard. Grolink AB. ISSUE 17. September 2002.

Organic Monitor Ltd. The European Market for Organic Fruit & Vegetables June 1, 2005

Portuguese competent authority for organic farming: Instituto de Deselvolvemento Rural e Hidráulica
http://www.idrha.min-agricultura.pt/agricultura_biologica