Organic price war in the UK?

Consumers could save 25% on their baskets of British organic products by shopping at Aldi, the German discounter claimed when it announced it would sell organic produce. But Aldi's move into organics could make the sector the new battleground in the supermarket price war, Helen Browning, chief executive of the Soil Association, claims. According to the organisation, Sainsbury's is the largest retailer of organic food with a market share of 29% at this point of time. (Picture: Helen Browning at the Soil Association Conference 2014)
 

"Will it be that Sainsbury's and the other retailers start to say, 'we will cut our margins on organic to maintain our customer base'?" questioned Browning. "Or will they say 'we're going back to our suppliers to ask them to do it for less'?" Browning said consumers were once again starting to show interest in organic food. However, continued pressure on consumer spending power was increasing competition for shoppers between the big retailers. "We don't want to see price wars going on in organic," remarked Browning. She added that farmers and food manufacturers would ultimately pay the price.

Organic Monitor comments that although there are concerns about discounters’ commitment to organic foods, one should not forget their growing importance in the UK retail market. Lidl and Aldi have been showing a rise in market share at the expense of large supermarkets. Consumers can benefit from lower prices of organic foods, as they have done in Germany and Denmark where the market share of organic products is much higher than that in the UK. The full article is available here.