The US provide strong impulses for worldwide growth

In the ranking of global organic markets the United States gained a market share of 47% in 2015, according to the survey „World of Organic Agriculture launched by Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and IFOAM – Organics International. The data were presented at BioFach in Niuremberg.

The Organic Trade Association (OTA), Washington, is extraordinarily satisfied with this trend and sales achieved in 2015. According to the publication “Organic Industry Survey,” sales reached an all-time high of nearly $ 40 billion ($ 39.7 billion). This year alone, an 11% plus, as well as the largest increase to date of $ 4.2 billion, was achieved.

The foremost driver of growth is the fresh-food segment, where sales have increased to $ 13 billion, accounting for 36% of the entire US organic market. In the US, the market share of organic fruits and vegetables is now at 13%. Sales have even doubled for processed, vegetarian convenience products (+107%). The majority of organic fruits and vegetables were sold via “traditional” supermarket chains ($ 5.7 billion), followed by specialist shops, and whole-foods stores ($ 4.7 billion), as well as direct marketing ($ 2.7billion) via weekly farmers markets, producer-and-consumer communities, and online shops.

For bananas alone, sales increased by 33% to $ 165 million, a considerable increase. OTA’s managing director, Laura Batcha, commented: “The available data indicate that organic-foods customers are extremely health-conscious when purchasing fruits and vegetables. Organic products are their first choice here because of the assurance that, with this choice, toxic and persistent pesticides can be avoided.”

The non-food sector with organic textiles, detergent and cleaning agents and cosmetics has grown by 13% to $ 3.6 billion. Both product groups — food and non-food — combined achieved a total of $ 43.3 billion in sales, corresponding to 39.6 billion euros.