For the first time, sales of Knospe foodstuffs rose to over CHF 3 billion. The organic market share rose to just under 10 percent. At the end of 2018, 6,719 companies were producing food according to organic guidelines, which is 300 more than a year earlier.
2018 was a good year for Bio Suisse. "Organic food sales rose by 13.3 percent last year, to more than CHF 3 billion," says Balz Strasser, Managing Director of Bio Suisse. This means organic products have achieved a market share of 9.9 percent.
In the 2018 retail sector, Coop and Migros were the growth drivers, generating as they did three quarters of the organic sales. Sales of organic products (Naturaplan) rose to CHF 1,34 million (+ 16.3%). Coop celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018. This resulted in an increase in market share to 45.4 per cent (2017: 44.3 per cent). Migros achieved sales of CHF 990 million (+ 11.4%) and has a share of 32.3% in the organic market (2017: 32.8%).
Per capita and year, 360 francs worth of organic food was bought in 2018: 40 francs more than in the previous year. According to Bio Suisse, all product groups have seen growth. The highest market share was seen -as in the years before- for eggs (27.6%). In second place is fresh bread (25.3%), on vegetables / salads / potatoes came in at third place (21.8%).
Bio Suisse also set a record with regard to the number of organic farmers. At the end of 2018, 6,719 companies were producing according to the Knospe guidelines; 296 more than in late 2017. At the beginning of 2019, another 370 companies were added. This all means that 7,100 farms now produce according to organic guidelines. 15.4 percent of agricultural land is farmed organically, and in the valley area, the 10 percent mark was exceeded for the first time. In the mountain area, 25 percent of the area is managed following bio criteria.
Source: www.schweizerbauer.ch