North American organic coffee market tops 1.3 billion $

The North American organic coffee market topped 1.3 billion $ in 2008, making it the single most valuable organic product imported into North America, according to new data released by coffee market analyst Daniele Giovannucci at a sampling event featuring delicious new crop organic coffees from leading roasters in the USA. The event was hosted by the Organic Coffee Collaboration, a project of the Organic Trade Association, at New York City’s Union Square Cafe.  The ten participants in the Collaboration are Caffe Ibis (Logan, UT), Chiapas Farms (Austin, TX), Crimson Cup (Columbus, OH), Elan Organic Coffee (San Diego, CA), Equator Estate Coffees and Teas (San Rafael, CA), Green Mountain Coffee (Waterbury, VT), Maximus Coffee Group (Houston, TX), S&D Coffee (Concord, NC), Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company (Burnaby, BC, Canada), and True Origin Organics (Weston, FL and Bogotá, Colombia), OTA reports. These participants represent some of the newest companies on the market as well as well known firms that source, decaffeinate, or roast for the largest companies in the United States.

According to The North American Organic Coffee Industry Survey 2009 by Giovannucci (with support from the Specialty Coffee Association of America), approximately 89 million pounds of organic coffee were imported into the United States and Canada in 2008, a 12 % increase from 2007, with most of the sales taking place in the USA. The 29 % annual average growth rate for the organic category documented by Giovannucci between 2000 and 2008 dwarfs the estimated 1.5 % projected annual growth rate of the conventional coffee industry. The survey is available from the Organic Trade Association. “Consumers have spoken loud and clear,” said Christine Bushway, OTA executive director. “Consumers choose to support organic agriculture even when times get tough.”

OTA