Organic produce has a tough time

A story from a couple of weeks ago that you may have missed concerning "the worst trading conditions in 20 years" for organic produce in 2009.

I heard this as a snippet on the radio whilst driving but I was curious enough to try and find out a bit more.

Here's what Green Wise Business had to say:

"Sales of organic products fell by 12.9 per cent in 2009 to £1.84 billion, according to the Soil Association’s Organic Market Report, the most comprehensive annual study of UK organic trade. Bread, meat and chilled foods were hit hardest, but organic milk and baby foods bucked the trend.

The fall was the first recorded since the Soil Association began reporting organic products sales in 1993. Even in 2008, organic products saw a modest growth of 1.7 per cent to £2.113 billion."

One of the worst hit was organic bread and "bakery items" which sales dived by 39.8%.

The industry is keen to point out that 2010 shows signs of growth claiming organic efforts (which account for 4.3% of UK farmland) are needed to continue tackling food security and climate change.

You can read Green Wise's full report by clicking here. It's well worth 5 minutes of your time if you've ever bought organic produce or you're interested in buying organic produce.

photo credit: Gabriel Kamener, Sown Together