After a dip in 2022, sales of organic food are increasing again. However, prices are also climbing.
Organic food is in greater demand again in Germany. Sales of organic products increased by five percent to 16.1 billion euros last year. This was announced by the chairwoman of the Federation of Organic Food Industry (BÖLW), Tina Andres, in Nuremberg at the Biofach trade fair. The organic industry is coming out of the crisis, said Andres.
In 2022, industry sales declined. Organized at the same time as the natural cosmetics trade fair Vivaness in Nuremberg, Biofach is the world’s largest natural food trade fair.
Organic at the discounter
According to BÖLW, organic sales in the food retail sector increased by 7.2 percent to 10.8 billion euros. Discounters accounted for the largest share of sales at 40 percent. Organic shops and organic supermarkets were only able to increase their sales slightly in 2023. While food prices in general rose by nine percent last year, the increase for organic food was only five percent.
According to market analyst Diana Schaak, the growth of the organic industry is primarily due to increased prices. For conventional foods, however, sales growth was lower than the increase in prices, as the expert from Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft said.
At the same time, the area for organic cultivation in Germany increased. According to the industry association, around 80,500 hectares were added. That corresponds to the area of more than 300 football fields. This means that around 1,940,300 hectares were farmed organically in 2023 – an increase of 4.3 percent. According to BÖLW, around 12 percent of all agricultural land in Germany is now farmed organically.
Source: Stern
