Organic sales take a hit

Organic food

Organic sales may have previously held up during the recession, but new data has shown that in the last year, sales have fallen significantly.

The report follows that of one from the Food Standards Agency last year which reported that there were "no important differences in the nutrition content, or any additional health benefits, of organic food when compared with conventionally produced food."

In the last year in the UK, sales of organic food, drink and other products has fallen 12.9 percent as producers battle against a downturn in consumer demand and the worst trading climate in 20 years. The new data has found that shoppers have turned their backs on organic fruit, vegetables, meat and bread in order to save themselves some pennies.

As well as a fall in the shops, home delivery organic vegetable and fruit boxes also fell, with a 9.8 percent slump in sales, while sales of organic goods in supermarkets fell by 12.2 percent, and in the independent sector - farm shops and health food outlets - by 17.7 percent.

Fall from record high

Overall, organic sales fell last year from a record high of GBP£2.1 billion in 2008 to GBP£1.84 billion, according to the Organic Market Report 2010, released at the Natural and Organic Products Europe show in London. The report provides the most up-to-date analysis of the organic market, examining the performance of different sectors and polling consumers. It is produced every year by the Soil Association, which promotes organic farming and food in the UK as well as overseeing the main accreditation scheme, the British paper The Guardian reports.

The three biggest categories of organic food in terms of retail value - dairy, fruit and vegetables, and fresh meat - saw supermarket sales fall by 6.5 percent, 14.8 percent and 22.7 percent respectively. But dairy remains overall the most popular food category, accounting for 33 percent of all sales.

Despite the fall in other sectors, organic milk sales grew by one percent - largely on the back of the launch of a new, "healthy one percent fat" milk, making 2009 the best year on record for organic milk sales. Also growing, was organic baby food sales, which leaped by 20.8 percent, passing the GBP£100 million mark.

Of all the sales, it was organic bread and bakery which suffered the biggest battering as sales fell by 39.8 percent, while chilled meals fell by 21.4 percent.

Despite the slump, the report shows that sales of organic food are still three times higher than in 1999 and more than 50 percent higher than five years ago. Despite the fall in food, organic health and beauty products have continued to grow rapidly, with sales increasing by a third to GBP£36 million.

Jodie Humphries

Jodie Humphries graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA Hons in Creative Writing in 2008. She has worked for GDS Publishing for the digital group since July 2009. She has previous experience with writing for the web, running her own website since April 2007.

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