The Italian market: strong organic growth in 2016

2016 could  be a boom  year in Italy in terms of both the production and consumption of organic products. “In 2016 we recorded 20% growth of the organic market,” explained Assobio, the National Association of Manufacturers  and Distribution of Organic and Natural Products. In the first three-quarters of 2016, in fact, the turnover of the members of Assobio had already reached 493 million euros, which was more in just 9 months than in the whole of 2014.

In 2015 the sale of organic products on the domestic market reached  2.6 billion euros, and exports generated a further 1.6 billion euros. Especially fruit and vegetables are much appreciated by the international market: the major importers of Italian organics are Germany and France  with a share of 18% each, followed by the USA, Canada and the Benelux and Scandinavian countries.

According to the Italian farmers´ association Coldiretti and data of BioBank, in 2016 there was also a positive trend in the expansion of organic agricultural land that exceeded growth of 11.2% in 2015. In terms of marketing channels, in addition to the growth in traditional stores and supermarkets, there was a boom in direct sales by agricultural producers via, for example, farm shops, farmers' markets and networks.

BioBank data says that e-commerce has grown by 71% in the last five years. In the same period the turnover of organic restaurants has increased by 69%. Specialized organic food shops recorded growth of 15%, the outlets for direct sales on organic farms grew by 14% and school meals that use organic raw materials by 12%. Coldiretti's figures for August 2016 show that there were 2,878 companies with direct sales, 1,527 farm sales, 1,395 specialized shops, 1,250 school cafeterias, 877 buyer groups, 861 restaurants, 286 e-commerce sites and 221 foods markets.