Jan 25, 2018
Valued at SEK 27.9 billion in 2017, the market share for organic food products was 9.3 percent, up 9.8 percent form the previous year. Organic food out of the home lead the growth with a 15 percent increase. Overall, retail sales are the largest sector of the organic market in Sweden, with 61 percent of organic food sales. Within the retail sector, organic sales in hard discounters such as Lidl and Netto are outperforming other store formats. Within the food service sector, organic food has a 35 percent share of public food service operations, such as school meals.
Jan 25, 2018
Organic foods and agriculture are becoming more popular, especially in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. With a 2014 change in procurement for school meals that emphasizes quality over price, organic foods now comprise 40 percent of primary school meals. In addition the number of organic specialty supermarkets is up nine percent, and conventional supermarkets have expanded their organic offerings. Public awareness of animal welfare issues has boosted the market for organic sausage and meats, with sales up 17 percent.
Jan 18, 2018
A legal opinion from the advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union said that certain gene editing techniques might not fall under the European Union’s primary law about Genetically Modified Organisms. Those techniques include gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR. The current law, EU Directive 2001/18/EC, covers techniques that involve introducing foreign DNA into an organism, but not traditional plant breeding or use of irradiation for mutagenesis. The new legal opinion would not prevent individual EU member states from making their own rules for gene editing.
Jan 12, 2018
The comment period for the European Union’s changes to the rules for indicating the country of origin or place of provenance of the primary ingredient of a food where different to that given for that food is open until March 12, 2018.
Dec 21, 2017
Carrefour, in conjunction with the Regional Government of Andalusia, launched a campaign in Spain to promote organic products. Andalusia is a leader in organic production, but just one percent of consumption there is organic.
Dec 21, 2017
Organic food sales reached €1.4 billion in 2016, up 10 percent. The sales increases came primarily in supermarkets, even as specialty shops kept their sales steady.
Dec 19, 2017
Coop Denmark, the Danish retailer, will work with the Danish Organic Association and Denmark’s Nature Conservation Association to fundraise for the new Danish Organic Agriculture Fund. The money will be used to increase organic farming area in Denmark through the purchase of farms.
Dec 5, 2017
India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) introduced a new organic logo for both the National Programme for Organic Production and the Participatory Guarantee System for India, a move designed to reduce confusion and increase consumer confidence. In addition, a new database (www.jaivikbharat.fssai.gov.in) will allow consumers to check products’ organic certification.
Nov 28, 2017
Organic farmland increased most in Europe in 2016, with Bulgaria (up 35 percent), Croatia (up 23 percent) and Cyprus (up 18 percent) leading the way. Greece, Poland and Romania saw decreases, however.
Meanwhile, France saw organic industry growth of 21.7 percent in 2016, with fruits and vegetables and dry foods among the fast-growing categories. Germany’s organic market grew 9.9 percent in 2016. Half the money spent there on organic products was spent in conventional food retailers. In Austria, organic products represented 8.6 percent of the market by July 2017, with eggs, milk, potatoes and vegetables among the top organic products. Sweden’s organic market doubled in size from 2014 to 2016, and is estimated at €2.6 billion, with organic product share estimated at 9.3 percent.
Nov 22, 2017
Chile’s Agriculture and Livestock Service has developed a new seal, which will be mandatory for all Chilean organic processed products. Meanwhile, the country has signed an equivalence agreement with the European Union.
Nov 16, 2017
In an interview with Mark Tanner, founder of China Skinny, a marketing, research, and strategy company, the American Chamber of Commerce podcast considers challenges of marketing products in China. For example, 40 percent of food and beverage products use influencers in promotions in China, vs. 11 percent in the US. In addition, Tanner talks about some of the regional differences to consider.
Nov 16, 2017
Total value of the organic market in Australia is expected to reach AU$2 billion by 2018. In some categories, demand is outstripping supply in Australia and around the world, including grains, fruit and vegetables, livestock feed and red meat. More than two-thirds of Australian households reported purchasing at least one organic product in 2016, with fruit and vegetables, dairy and home-cooking ingredients the leading categories that year. Most shoppers in Australia buy organic products at the supermarket, and 44 percent of shoppers look for a certification logo.
Nov 14, 2017
Some markets in Asia are showing double-digit organic market growth rates, with regional sales expected to reach US$10 billion in coming years. China and India are two of the fastest growing markets, with concerns about food safety driving consumer interest.
Nov. 14, 2017
Nov 7, 2017
Land in organic agriculture increased to 1.25 million hectares in 2016, up nearly 15 percent from the year before. Approximately a third of arable is devoted to fodder crops. Organic production accounted for 8 percent of outdoor vegetable yields and 10 percent of greenhouse crops. In addition, organic farm revenues were up 9 percent, due in part increases in animal product, especially milk and eggs.
Nov 2, 2017
Changes to Chile’s organic regulations will now allow Small Ecological Farmers Organizations to verify organic production as part of participant guarantee systems. Now, in order to be recognized as organic, products must be certified either by a certification body or by a Small Ecological Farmers Organization registered with the competent authority.
Oct 31, 2017
Businesses exporting organic products to the European Union must now use the EU’s Trade Control & Expert System (TRACES) for electronic Certificates of Inspection. The Organic Trade Association recently shared some tips from the program administrators. Here are excerpts:
Updated Control Body / Certifier Codes
- Exporters can now initiate their own requests.
- If you are exporting product but the importer is not in the system you can create the importer. Create the Importer in the System, you would need to know the Importer EU Control Body. In some EU countries, the Importer has to be validated by EU authorities and not CBs (Germany, Italy). As much as possible the best solution is to ask the Importer to create himself/herself in the system.
- At what point can I print the Certificate of Inspection (COI)? (the electronic signature is not working) Once the Control Body has signed the certificate in TRACES (box 18), the certificate must be printed, stamped and signed; this constitutes the original COI and must be presented at the border of the EU with the consignment.
- Who initiates a request for a certificate of inspection? The person selling the goods to the EU? Or the person in the EU buying them? COI can be initiated by either the Exporter (organic exporter Nota Bene) or the Importer (org Importer), but it is issued by the CB. The certificate signed by the CB is then checked at the EU border by EU relevant authorities. Last but not least the First consignee in the EU has to sign also its part ( box 21).
Oct 31, 2017
With organic food sales up 14 percent at retailers and 21 percent in food service between 2014-2016, more Danish farmers are planning to go organic. Nearly 1000 farmers have applied for funding to convert, which is expected to increase organic farmland in Denmark by 19 percent.
Oct 24, 2017
IFOAM - Organics will select a new president and new world board members on November 12, 2017. Meanwhile, Executive Director Markus Arbenz will leave his position mid-2018. A search for a new executive director is underway.
Oct 17, 2017
Over the last 10 years, natural cosmetic sales have double in Germany and, along with organic cosmetics, have 8.5 percent of the cosmetic market there. More people are trying natural cosmetics, in part because of the availability at drugstores and via successful retail concepts. Meanwhile, in France, members of the association for natural and organic cosmetics (Cosmebio) report 16 percent increase in sales in 2016. Specialty stores there account for 25 percent of the market, and mail order and online ships account for 12 percent. In the United Kingdom, the Soil Association’s week-long campaign in May to draw attention to organic beauty products boosted members’ sales by 13 percent in 2016 Worldwide, the market for natural cosmetics is expected to grow about eight to ten percent annually.
Oct 16, 2017
From January through June 2017, organic food and beverage sales in Sweden were up seven to eight percent, reports organic-market.info. For certain commodities, especially fruits and vegetables, demand outstripped supply.
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