In the "Market and Trade" thematic block, experts presented their respective findings on individual products. The discussion began with a keynote presentation by Christina Rampold on the topic of "Impact of global conflicts on the German organic market". According to Rampold, the 2021 organic acreage in Germany was up 6% compared to 2020. However, to meet the goals of the EU as well as the current German government, an annual growth of 11% would have to be achieved.
(from left to right, back row): Rainer Carstens (Westhof Bio), Kevin Colmsee (Ökokontor Uelzen) and Martin Jakobfeuerborn (Lehmann Natur) as well as (from left to right, front row) Mariah Muhs (EDEKA Handelsgesellschaft Nord mbH), Christine Rampold (Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft mbH) and Henning Niemann (KÖN).
Discounters profit most from organic foods
"Discounters profit with more than 30% regarding organic food. Volumes, however, have increased only by 4%. Full-range retailers again saw a slight drop, while natural food retailers had the highest losses, although very stable price-wise." At the same time, prices for conventional foods increased more than those of organic foods. "Organic doesn't have to be more expensive," Rampold said.
70% of organic sales went through conventional food retailers
With a total area of 12,000 acres, organic potatoes gained between 6-8% in acreage in one year. The largest share concerns table potatoes. Currently, a weaker demand for organic potatoes is seen, but it is higher than in 2021. 70% of organic sales are marketed through conventional food retailers. There was a 13% drop in organic potatoes at discounters compared to last year. Sales have been pushed through promotions. Meanwhile, prices for organic potatoes remained unchanged. This year, some 9% fewer conventional potatoes have been harvested. There have been large exports to Eastern Europe. The producer prices increased.
Of the imported goods, a shift away from both Egypt and Israel and toward Spanish produce was evident. Most organic table potatoes consumed in Germany are produced domestically. Import volumes are significantly lower in this area than for other products. A better yield was achieved than was expected.
Weakening sales
Sales weakened from January to September 2022. In terms of volume there was a 6% drop, probably because consumers buy more according to their needs and possibly they are throwing away less. However, the market is back in the plus in the last three months, which is partly due to the significant price increases.
Extension of the German potato marketing window
To counteract the decline in sales, Kevin Colmsee from Ökokontor in Uelzen advocates extending the marketing window for German products. "due to the physiological aging of potatoes that couldn't be irrigated, there has to be a premature marketing, otherwise they won't be suited as table poatoes anymore."
750-gram organic onion packages popular
Colmsee also claims that the past two 'pandemic years' should be seen as exceptional years and, to that extent, be removed from the balance sheet. "[...] because you can't work with these numbers, as they only spread fear." After all, he said, this year has seen a 20% drop in onion sales compared to the Covid years. "Organic onions have been able to achieve much with the 750g packages. These are holding up very well with consumers, who are more likely to reach for this organic onion bag, despite a higher price," Colmsee said. To be able to offer the German product in the longer term, however, a corresponding infrastructure is lacking, he added.
Organic vegetable acreages increased
The acreage for all organic vegetables has increased by 13%. The organic share of the total vegetable area is 11%. However, the largest vegetable growing areas in Germany are not necessarily those with the largest organic areas. "Organic demand is picking up slightly again. With the transition to storage vegetables, sales are currently okay," Rampold said. For organic carrots, there was an acreage expansion, but only a small crop due to weather. Prices for these carrots remained comparatively stable. Additionally, high sales volumes for German goods were seen in 2021, while sales for goods from abroad, such as the Netherlands, were rather disappointing.
Sales slump in the specialist natural food trade
Martin Jacobfeuerborn, purchasing manager at Lehmann Natur, presented the company's facts and figures in this area. This means, he could provide an insight into the main sales of conventional food retailers and discounters. "The discount channel has remained quite stable and satisfactory, despite individual discounts in April/May." Since October, demand is picking up again, especially in the area of stored vegetables, like carrots and pumpkins, etc." The main German produce movers, he said, are zucchini, squash, and parsnips and carrots. "We try to have parsnips on sale year-round and pumpkins pretty much year-round. Starting in October, we import 80-90% of our zucchinis from Spain and from Italy," Jacobfeuerborn said.
"The costs for personnel, packaging, etc. are becoming more expensive. Producer costs and transports are also increasing, which one can't necessarily always predict." This year, producers from the Netherlands also faced high costs from the year before and they have adjusted their prices accordingly, he said. "The crisis definitely also provides advantages regarding domestic goods. The only question is how sustainable this trend actually is and how this will develop in the coming years," Jacobfeuerborn said.
Demand for frozen goods has increased
According to Rampold, demand for frozen goods has increased. However, the organic share in the frozen sector is just 6%, and for canned vegetables and mushrooms it is just 3%. Organic still plays a relatively small role in out-of-home catering.
Rainer Carstens (Westhof Bio), winner of this year's CERES Award, converted his company to organic farming as early as 1989 and has been producing frozen goods ever since. The company's main crops include "everything that grows in northern Germany". This means peas, carrots, beets, parsnips, zucchinis, etc.
Buying behavior in the crisis
Almost 60% of consumers interviewed already said in January that they looked for promotions and tended to buy cheaper private labels rather than brand products. Certain products were also more likely to be bought at discount stores. After the war in Ukraine, this shopping behavior intensified There was a shift from specialist organic markets to classic retailers and a clear preference for discounters. The consumer behaviour is not expected to recover within the next few months (according to a GfK survey). No major recovery in consumer confidence is expected in the next few months. Food prices will continue to be on the rise. Price increase of more than 22% are to be expected for all foodstuffs, not just in the organic sector.
Maria Muhs is responsible for sustainability goals at EDEKA Nord. The company's declared goal, she said, is to have a 10% organic share by 2030 for the entire assortment, with an organic share of about 20% already in the fresh produce area. They currently want to increase the Demeter share and to promote regional goods more strongly. The fresh produce share is currently already at 20% organic.