Sales of organic red meat are growing in Great Britain

The sales of organic red meat increased by 12 per cent in the year to 5th November, a report of the analyst Julie Fisher at the Meat and Livestock Commission showed. But Mrs. Fisher also pointed out that the organic market still remained small in relation to total meat sales, with a volume of less than 5,000 tonnes per year, representing less than 1 per cent of the total. The value over the same period was £ 36 million.

In Scotland, there are about 300 organic producers who will be encouraged by the growth, especially since conventional red meat just saw an annual growth of 1 per cent. The main winner was organic beef. Mrs. Fisher saw the increase in sales being driven by penetration into the households. 2.8 million households would purchase organic meat at least once a year now. Retail prices and increased promotional activity were reasons for this. Organic mince was the biggest seller with a 23 per cent growth. Mrs. Fisher stated that mince was an entry product, since it was easy to cook and the cheapest of the cuts.

Not surprisingly, London with its high level of disposable incomes accounted for 29 per cent of all organic meat purchases. Scotland accounted for only 4.8 per cent, but this was still a third higher than in the previous year.

http://business.scotsman.com

Further information on Scottish organic beef, lamb and grain output for 2006-2007 is also available from the annual survey of organic producers in Scotland undertaken as part of the SAC Organic Market Link (OML) project.

http://www.farminguk.com