Sweden: 6 % organic in the public sector

Consumption of organics in Sweden’s public sector rose by 40 % from 2005 to 2006 and now accounts for 6 % of total food consumption. In the best areas the government’s target has almost been achieved – by 2010 25 % of all food served in catering in the public sector must be organic. A success story is school milk, with every third litre consumed nationwide being organic.

Picture: The Swedish Minister of Agriculture Eskil Erlandsson visiting a farm in Gnesta in March 2007

However, production has not kept pace with consumption. This is particularly noticeable in the case of milk, and at Easter organic eggs were in short supply too. Since last autumn, the dairy enterprise Arla (the biggest in the Nordic countries) has been selling Danish organic milk to some of its large-scale catering customers without informing them in advance. Some customers were annoyed because they thought Arla could have done more to increase the number of farmers in Sweden converting to organic.
(Picture: Arla)

Every second organic product consumed in Sweden now comes from abroad. The Minister of Agriculture has already commissioned a study to find out why production lags behind demand. Despite years of positive market development, Swedish farmers appear to be downright sceptical about organic methods.

However, this scepticism is not typical of the trade. For example, in Stockholm last year the company Barnmatsbutiken opened “The Organic Children’s Food Store” that concentrates on food and care products for children. Also located in the capital is Ekodirekt that trades in and around Stockholm on the internet with a complete organic product range. In the case of Ekodirekt, the environmental principle does not only apply to the products but also to things like staff clothing and delivery by vehicles run on bio-gas.

The oldest Swedish organic box scheme supplier Mossagarden is celebrating its tenth anniversary at the beginning of August. To mark the occasion, a big eco-party is being held on the farm that has the same name (picture). The farm is run by Marianne and Bengt Olson, and the supply business is in the hands of their daughter Ebba-Maria. Mossagarden products are also sold by Ebba-Maria’s sister Hanna-Metta in the Malmö organic store Morot&Annat, and they deliver to 60 nurseries and schools as well.

Other organic box suppliers are reporting constant growth too. Ekoladen now supplies a good 3000 customers and has recently expanded its territory to include Göteborg. The Danish company Aarstiderna delivers 2700 organic boxes every week in Sweden.

Many of the organic addresses can be found in EkoSTHLM, an up-to-date version of which will be brought out by Ekologiska Lantbrukarna in September. The booklet that can be downloaded in PDF format, provides information on shops, cafés and places to visit in the region round the capital.

Non-specialist companies selling organic products are also doing well. The alcohol monopoly firm Systembolaget increased its sales of organic wine and beer by 70 % last year and almost reached its target of 1 % of total turnover.

Choice Hotels, with 160 establishments the biggest hotel chain in Scandinavia, has had more organic breakfast products on offer since February and, according to information supplied by the company, it serves seven million breakfasts every year.

Sweden’s biggest food exporter is Ikea (picture), with food accounting for 3 % of its turnover (about 19 billion Euros). As Miriam Swärdh, Head of Marketing at Ikea Food Services, recently reported to the news service Ekoweb, organic sales increased by 20 % in 2007, and by the autumn of 2009 10 % of the turnover of food should be organic. If the company reaches this target, Ikea will be selling Swedish organic products all over the world to the value of 57 million Euros a year.

As a result of this positive development, the Nordic countries are to get their own organic event modelled on the Biofach world trade fair in Nuremberg. It will be held in Sweden in May 2009. Planning for this event are the trade fair company Svenska Mässan and the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (Centrum för uthalligt lantbruk, CUL). The venue for the “Nordic Organic Conference”, that will take place from 18 to 20 May 2009, will be Göteborg/Gothenburg on the south west coast of Sweden. Fifteen Swedish companies took part in this year’s BioFach. A new exhibitor was the organic fast food manufacturer Green ‘n Lean. The firm Oatly was awarded the DLG gold medal for its oat cream.