The organic market in Europe grew by 7.8% in 2018 to be worth EUR40.7 billion, according to data contained in the World of Organic Agriculture 2020 report published this week.
The figures represent a slightly slowing on growth in recent years (the market grew by 11.1% in 2017). And while some national markets in Europe continued to deliver double digit growth – notably France, at +15.4% – some experienced a significant slowing in retail sales growth compared to recent strong performances, Sweden and Italy among them.
The new report is based on data collected by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), the Agricultural Market Information Company (AMI). The report, published jointly with IFOAM – Organics International, was launched at this week’s Biofach event in Nuremberg, Germany.
15.6 million hectares of farmland are organic – Spain has the largest area
In Europe, 15.6 million hectares were organic in 2018 (European Union: 13.8 million hectares). With 2.2 million hectares, Spain continues to be the country with the largest organic area in Europe, followed by France (2.0 million hectares), and Italy (2.0 million hectares).
Organic farmland increased by more than one million hectares
The organic land increased by 1.25 million hectares in Europe and by one million hectares in the European Union, representing an increase of 8.7 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively. France reported over 290’000 hectares more than in 2017 and Spain reported over 160’000 hectares more.
Liechtenstein is the country with the highest organic share of the total farmland in the world
Organic farmland in Europe constituted 3.1% of the total agricultural land and 7.7% in the European Union. In Europe (and globally), Liechtenstein had the highest organic share of all farmland (38.5 percent) followed by Austria, the country in the European Union with the highest organic share (24.7%). Ten European countries reported that at least 10 percent of their farmland is organic.
Organic producers on the riseThere were almost 420,000 organic producers in Europe (European Union: almost 330,000), and the largest numbers were in Turkey (almost 80,000) and Italy (more than 69,000). The number of producers grew by 5.4% in Europe (7.2% in the European Union) in 2018.
Continued growth of processors and importers
There were almost 76,000 processors in Europe and almost 71,000 in the European Union. Almost 5,800 importers were recorded in Europe and more than 5,000 in the European Union. The country with the largest number of processors was Italy (more than 20,000), while Germany had the most importers (more than 1,700).
Retail sales pass EUR40 billion mark
Retail sales in Europe were valued at EUR40.7 billion euros (EUR37.4 billion the European Union). The largest market was Germany (EUR10.9 billion). The European Union represents the second largest single market for organic products in the world after the United States (EUR40.6 billion).
Steady growth of retail sales in 2018
The European market recorded a growth rate of 7.8%. Among the key markets, the highest growth was seen in France (15.4%). In the decade 2009-2018, the value of the European and European Union markets has more than doubled.
European consumers spend more on organic food
In Europe, consumers spent EUR50 on organic food per person annually (European Union: EUR76). Per capita consumer spending on organic food has doubled in the last decade. Danish and Swiss consumers spent the most money on organic food (EUR312 per capita in 2018).
Denmark has the highest organic market share in the world
Globally, European countries account for the highest shares of organic food sales as a percentage of their respective food markets. Denmark is the first country to surpass the ten percent mark and has the highest organic share (11.5 percent) worldwide. Individual products and product groups hold even higher shares. Organic eggs, for instance, reach around 30 percent of the value of all eggs sold in some countries.
Main photo: European organic data being presented at this week’s Biofach event