Organic market - Switzerland had highest per capita consumption worldwide in 2016
The survey on the European organic market, i.e. organic agriculture in Europe, is carried out by FiBL and AMI. This data collection is part of a worldwide survey on organic agriculture, which is supported by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The European organic market also broke records in 2016, partly by expanding the growth in area.
Almost 14 million hectares are farmed organically - Spain has the largest organic area
In 2016, 13.5 million hectares were farmed organically in Europe (European Union: 12.1 million hectares). With more than 2 million hectares, Spain remains the country with the largest organic area in Europe, followed by Italy (1.8 million hectares) and France (1.5 million hectares).
Organic farmland expanded by nearly one million hectares
Organic area increased by nearly one million hectares in Europe and the European Union, representing growth of 6.7 percent in Europe and 8.2 percent in the European Union. The growth was higher than in 2015 and significantly higher than in the first years of the current decade. In 2016, Italy recorded over 300,000 hectares more than in 2015 and France over 200,000 hectares more.
Liechtenstein has the highest organic share worldwide
Organic land accounts for 2.7 percent of total agricultural land in Europe and 6.7 percent in the European Union. In Europe (and worldwide), Liechtenstein has the highest organic share of agricultural land at 37.7 percent, followed by Austria, the country in the European Union with the highest organic share. Nine European countries reported that at least 10 percent of their agricultural land is farmed organically.
Over 370,000 organic producers
There were more than 370,000 organic producers in Europe and nearly 300,000 in the European Union. Turkey is the country with the most farms (nearly 68,000). The number of producers in Europe grew by 7 percent in 2016 (10 percent in the EU).
Strong growth among processors and importers
There were almost 66'000 organic processors in Europe and almost 63'000 in the European Union. Almost 4,700 importers were counted in Europe and almost 4,000 in the European Union. Importers experienced particularly strong growth, with double-digit increases in both Europe and the European Union. The country with the largest number of processors was Italy (almost 17,000), while Germany had the most importers (almost 1,600).
Retail sales in the European Union exceed the 30 billion euro mark
Retail sales in Europe amounted to 33.5 billion euros (30.7 billion euros in the European Union). The European Union represents the second largest domestic market for organic products in the world after the United States.
Double-digit growth rates in retail sales in 2016
The European market recorded growth of around 11.4 percent (European Union: 12 percent), marking the second time since the financial crisis that retail sales have grown at a double-digit rate.
European consumers spend more on organic food
In Europe, consumers spent 41 euros per person on organic food (European Union: 61 euros). Per capita consumer spending on organic food has doubled in the last ten years. The Swiss spent the most on organic food (274 euros per capita).
Organic market shares approaching the ten percent mark in some countries
Globally, organic food sales have the highest share of the respective food markets in European countries. Denmark has the highest organic share worldwide at 9.7 percent. Individual products and product groups have even higher shares. Organic eggs, for example, account for more than 20 percent of the value of all eggs sold in several countries.
The survey on organic agriculture in Europe is carried out by FiBL and AMI. The FiBL data collection was carried out as part of the global organic farming survey, which is supported by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the International Trade Centre (ITC), NürnbergMesse and IFOAM - Organics International.
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