Global organic market expands 2.9%

A study published by FiBL and IFOAM titled The World of Organic Agriculture found that between 2017 and 2018, the world’s production of organic agriculture grew by 2.9%, with double-digit growth recorded in some markets. Global organic agricultural farmland increased by two million hectares in 2018 and organic sales are estimated to have surpassed the US$100 billion for the first time, according to market research company, Ecovia Intelligence.

The largest organic market is the US (€40.6bn), followed by Germany (€10.9bn) and France (€9.1bn), with the French market growing by over 15% in 2018. The highest per capita consumption of organics is in Denmark and Switzerland, with an average outlay per person of €312. Denmark has the highest penetration of organics in the shopping basket (11.5% of total food sales).

The world had a reported 2.8 million organic producers in 2018. India alone has over a million, followed by Uganda (210,000) and Ethiopia (204,000). Australia has by far the largest organic planted area (35.7 million ha), followed by Argentina (3.4 million ha). As yet, 1.5% of global farmland is organic, but its share is increasing. Liechenstein has the highest proportion of organic agricultural land (38.5%), followed by Samoa (34.5%) and Austria (24.7%).