Switzerland: record year for organics

In 2016 the 7.8 % growth of the Swiss organic market was three percentage points higher than growth in 2015. For 2017, a record number of conversions to organic are reported by the Swiss organic association Bio Suisse. 

All the important indicators in organic agriculture and the organic market rose in 2016 and continued on their upward trajectory at the beginning of 2017: organic turnover increased from 2.1 billion Swiss francs (+5.2%, 2015) to 2.5 billion (7.8%) in 2016. This translates into an 8.4 % share of the organic food market. Consumers are buying more and more organic products: half buy them every day or several times a week. Per capita, they spent 299 Swiss francs (2015: 280 francs).

At the beginning of 2017, Bio Suisse recorded an above-average number of farms, 386, in the process of conversion. The association said they have not seen a number like this since the 1990s. 6,144 producers manage around 140,000 hectares – a share of 13.4 % of all agricultural land in Switzerland.