Another record year for organic agriculture worldwide
The positive trend seen in the past years continues: Consumer demand is increasing, reflected in the significant market growth of 11 percent in the United States, the world’s largest organic market. More farmers cultivate organically, more land is certified organic, and 179 countries report organic farming activities (up from 172), as shown in the 2017 edition of the study "The World of Organic Agriculture" (data per end of 2015) published by FiBL and IFOAM – Organics International. The survey is supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the International Trade Centre (ITC), and NürnbergMesse, the organizers of the BIOFACH fair.
Global organic market continues to grow
The market research company Organic Monitor estimates the global market for organic food to have reached 81.6 billion US dollars in 2015 (approximately 75 billion euros). The United States is the leading market with 35.9 billion euros, followed by Germany (8.6 billion euros), France (5.5 billion euros), and China (4.7 billion euros). In 2015, most of the major markets showed double-digit growth rates, the highest per capita spending was in Switzerland (262 Euros), and Denmark has the highest organic market share (8.4 percent of the total food market).
More than two million producers
In 2015, 2.4 million organic producers were reported. India continues to be the country with the highest number of producers (585,200), followed by Ethiopia (203,602), and Mexico (200,039).
More than 50 million hectares of organic farmland
A total of 50.9 million hectares were organically managed at the end of 2015, representing a growth of 6.5 million hectares over 2014, the largest growth ever recorded. Australia is the country with the largest organic agricultural area (22.7 million hectares), followed by Argentina (3.1 million hectares), and the United States of America (2 million hectares).
Forty-five percent of the global organic agricultural land is in Oceania (22.8 million hectares), followed by Europe (25 percent; 12.7 million hectares), and Latin America (13 percent; 6.7 million hectares).
Ten percent or more of the farmland is organic in eleven countries. The countries with the largest share of organic agricultural land of their total farmland are Liechtenstein (30.2 percent), Austria (21.3 percent), and Sweden (16.9 percent). In eleven countries 10 percent or more of all agricultural land is organic.
For more information:
www.organic-world.net/yearbook/yearbook-2017.html