Organic News
Food for thought
The debate about the effect of the recession on organic sales is continuing. Prophets of doom are predicting a major down turn in sales of organic products but the experience of producers contradicts this. A straw poll among organic retailers indicated that there was a down turn in sales during the late summer but that the market has recovered since then. This could be attributed to the wretched summer and consumers going abroad for some sunshine.
The 30% rise in conventional food prices in recent months has resulted in greater equivalence between organic and conventional prices. Most growers, for example, have hardly raised prices in the past year. Supermarket prices for a wide range of conventional vegetables are now similar to, and in some cases, higher than organic prices charged by producers retailing directly. Anecdotal evidence, mainly from long standing growers, indicates that during previous economic down turns sales were not affected significantly.
In fact, there is some evidence to suggest that the recession could be advantageous to organic farming. Rising oil prices and input costs are causing chemical farmers to reassess their profit margins. Much of the interest in organic farming this year has resulted from that. Figures from Wales show that 1013 farmers have applied to join the revised Organic Farming Scheme. This represents a 78% increase in the number of organic farmers in Wales since January 2007.
A report from Andersons business consultants says that if oil prices continue to rise, the profit margins in organic farming could be significantly higher than conventional. So, in 2009 expect an influx of farmers to organic production, and even if it is motivated solely by profit, it should in the long term have beneficial environmental effects.
Gillian Westbrook has been appointed to the new position of
General Manager with IOFGA. Coming from a background in the regulatory area...
