Organic
farming is
practiced around the globe, but the markets for sale are strongest in
North
America and
Europe,
while the greatest dedicated area is accounted for byAustralia,
the greatest number of producers are in India,
and the Falkland
Island
record
the highest share of agricultural land dedicated to organic
production.
Organic farming by continent
The
following information is taken from the 2009 edition of the yearbook
"The World of Organic Agriculture", published by the
International Federation of Organic Movements IFOAM, the Research
Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL
and the
International Trade Centre ITC.
According
to the latest survey on organic agriculture, carried out by the
Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL
and
the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements IFOAM,
organic agriculture is developing rapidly, and statistical
information is now available from 141 countries of the world. Its
share of agricultural land and farms continues to grow in many
countries. The main results of the global survey on certified organic
farming show that 32.2 million hectares of agricultural land are
managed organically by more than 1.2 million producers, including
smallholders (2007). In addition to the agricultural land, there are
0.4 million hectares of certified organic aquaculture. Global demand
for organic products remains robust, with sales increasing by over
five billion US Dollars a year. Organic Monitor estimates
international sales to have reached 46.1 billion US Dollars in 2007
(WorldStats2009,FiBL,
IFOAM, ITC 2009).
Africa
Africa
has 1.3 million hectares of organic agricultural land as of 2014.Even
though Africa has the second largest land area of any continent, it
has the smallest distribution of organic agricultural land at 3%.
Much
of Africa’s organic agricultural activity is concentrated in East
Africa. Within the continent, Uganda has the largest organic area
(231,157 hectares) and the largest number of organic producers
(189,610).
Globally,
Uganda has the second largest number of organic producers (190,552) –
following India’s 650,000.
The
East African Community (Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania)
make up 35% of the African organic farming land.
According
to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, "there
is a growing recognition among policymakers that organic agricultural
has a significant role to play in addressing food security issues,
land degradation impacts, poverty alleviation and climate change in
Africa."There is also economic incentive to pursue organic
farming in Africa. North America and Europe make up a majority of
consumer demand for organic products, with 97 percent of global
revenues.
The
expectation is that African countries can tap into this growing
market in industrialized countries through organic exports. In
October 2015, participants from 28 countries attended the 3rd African
Organic Conference, which was held in Lagos, Nigeria. At this
Conference, participants urged donors and development partners to
increase their support for the African Union led Ecological Organic
Agriculture Initiative, which is currently supporting eight
countries. The next African Organic Conference will be held in
Cameroon in 2018.
Organic
agricultural land in Africa has had relatively slow growth and does
not have comparable infrastructure to more established organic
systems in North America and Europe. Because of this, there is less
data and consistent information around the regulation of organic
agriculture in Africa. Tanzania offers an example of how organic
farming is being managed in one East African country.
Tanzania
follows the East African Organic Product Standard, which was adopted
by the East African Community in 2007. This is the official standard
for organic agriculture production in the region as established by
the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations
Conference for Trade and Development. By 2005 Kenya, Uganda and
Tanzania had developed different organic standards. The East African
Organic Product Standard was an attempt to alleviate challenges
around market exclusion because of different criteria for organic
products. Some of the standards that have been set include criteria
around genetically modified organisms, social justice, crop
production, animal husbandry and labelling. They also provide a "List
of substances which may be used in organic plant production" and
a "List of additives and processing aids for organic food
processing.
"
As
of 2000, 45.1% of Tanzania’s GDP was generated from agricultural
activities and agricultural workers made up 84.4% of the country’s
total labor force.
Even
though many small-scale farmers in Tanzania practice traditional
farming – where they use not inputs – they are not all certified
and can’t benefit from the price premiums associated with certified
organic products. Of the products that are certified organic, most
are exported to international markets. Of the organic producers
selling outside of the country, their production includes coffee,
cocoa, tea, spices, horticultural produce such as fruits and
vegetables, cotton, maize, sesame, banana and cassava.
Additionally,
even though organic farming is mentioned in the 2006 Livestock Policy
and 2013 Agriculture Policy, Tanzania’s organic market is not
regulated.
Asia
The
total organic area in Asia is nearly 2.9 million hectares. This
constitutes nine percent of the world’s organic agricultural land.
230’000 producers were reported. The leading countries are China
(1.6 million hectares) and India (1 million hectares). The highest
shares of organic land of all agricultural land are in Timor Leste
(seven percent). Organic wild collection areas play a major role in
India and China. Production of final processed products is growing,
although a majority of production is still fresh produce and field
crops with low value-added processing, such as dry or processed raw
ingredients. Aquaculture (shrimp and fish) on the other hand, is
emerging in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and
Myanmar. Textiles is another important trend. Sector growth is now
also driven by imports, and local markets have taken off in many of
the big cities in the South and Eastern part of region besides Japan,
South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Bangkok,
Beijing, Shanghai, Jakarta, Delhi, Bangalore and other cities are
increasing internal consumption of organic products. Nine organic
regulations are in place. In seven countries work on national
standards and regulations is in progress.(FiBL,IFOAM,
ITC 2009).
Many organic products are imported fromOceania
and
the North
America.
Modern
organic agriculture in China began in the 1990s, focusing primarily
on exporting to international markets.
Historically,
China has 4,000 years of traditional sustainable farming methods.
Some of these traditional farming methods include crop rotation,
composting combined with organic matter recycling and traditional
ecological systems, such as mulberry trees utilized with fish ponds
to help maintain soil fertility.
The
modern Chinese organic system was heavily influenced by the
standards, concepts, organization and accreditation developed in
Western countries. One of the first certified organic products to
come out of China was tea from Lin’an County in Zhejiang Province,
which was exported to the Netherland signifying the beginning of
organic production in China. Since the 1990s, Chinese organic
agriculture has expanded rapidly due to the growing demand of
international trade and production in organic foods. As the global
organic market expanded, the Chinese State Environmental Protection
Administration (SEPA) established the Organic Food Development Center
(OFDC) in 1994, to certify organic agriculture based on international
standards. In 2001, OFDC was able to institute the first
comprehensive standard for certifying organic products in China.
However,
due to rising demand, SEPA created another agency in 2002, the
Certification and Accreditation Administration of China (CAAC) to
manage new fields of accreditation. In 2005, CAAC instituted the
Chinese National Organic Product Standard, based on international
standards that was compatible with American, Japanese and European
organic standards, including a national logo for national products.
This
overlap in competing government agencies is not uncommon in China.
Some scholars believe that the Chinese government is using this
competition to determine which organic system is most optimal.
Presently,
OFDC remains the most commonly used certifying agency for most
Chinese organic producers, but it ultimately depends on the
destination of their products whether to certify with OFCD or CAAC.
China
has the 4th largest area for organic agricultural land in the world
at 1.9 million hectares.
In
2009, there were 4,000 certified organic enterprises in China,
primarily focused on exporting to the United States, European Union
and Japan.
The
main products destined for export are beans, rice, tea, mushrooms,
vegetables, processed oil and herbs. Beans, at approximately 42
percent of the total export value, is the largest export followed
behind by cereals, nuts, vegetables, and tea. In 2009, Chinese
organic products were traded to more than 20 different countries.
According to the China Organic Food Certification Center (COFCC),
exported organic products increased in value in 1995 from $300K USD
to $350 million USD in 2004, which accounted for 1.7 percent of the
total value for Chinese agricultural exports.
Organic
agricultural products are produced mainly in three different areas:
Northeast China, the coastal areas of Eastern China and Southeast
China. The main certified areas in Northeast China include the
provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, and Liaoning
province, which produces cereals, beans, pumpkin and sunflower
kernels. In the developed coastal regions, which include Shandong,
Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Fujiang provinces, the focus
is on producing organic vegetables for the Japanese and the internal
Chinese market. Southeast China provinces like Zhejiang, Jiangxi and
Fujian are the main areas for organic tea production. The processing
for these products are mainly located in the highly developed and
urban areas of eastern China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang,
Shandong and Jiangsu Province.
The
domestic organic market was completely non-existent in China at the
start of modern organic production, but it has grown steadily since
the year 2000. This is partially due to increasing concerns over food
safety, which a huge issue among Chinese consumers, as the government
estimates 40,000 people are affected by food poisoning in a year.In
wealthier urban areas like Hong Kong, where demand for organic food
is increasing, consumers are concerned about the fact that China uses
30% of world's nitrogen fertilizer on 10% of world's arable land
along with being the largest user of pesticides and fertilizer in the
world.
The
capital city of Beijing is the largest domestic organic market,
accounting for approximately 1/3 of total domestic market value.
Large urban metropolises like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and
Shenzhen are also major domestic markets. Domestic organic food are
found mainly in supermarkets, specialized stores and home delivery
systems, which have gained popularity in recent years. The most
common products in these domestic markets are rice, beans, meat,
milk, eggs, vegetables, and cooking oil. Within China, organic
products are cost significantly more than conventional products, with
cereals and meat being three times the price of conventional
products. Organic vegetables can be as much as 10 times the price of
conventional vegetables.
The
Chinese government is experimenting with incentives at the provincial
level in order to attract farmers to organic farming. Certain
provinces have tried to implement their own large export ventures
while other jurisdictions offer incentives, like tax benefits to
private operators.
However,
issues remain that hamper the domestic organic market. The vast
distances to viable organic markets in China has a negative effect on
the local incentives. For instance, the Southern Chinese province of
Yunnan is a highly productive area for agriculture, but the area
itself has very little demand for organic products and the long
distances to the markets of Beijing and Shanghai limits organic
producers in Yunnan from significant expansion. Another issue is that
so much of Chinese organic products are being exported, the big
supermarket chains don’t have the steady supply of high volume
products to maintain customer confidence. This makes it difficult for
small producers, who can’t guarantee consistent volume, to enter
the market. For many Chinese consumers, there is a lack of general
knowledge about organic foods. According to Shanghai Organics, some
consumers still view organic as a foreign idea, separate from food
safety issues that garner the most attention.
The
biggest barrier is still price, which is much higher when compared to
conventional products. In America the premium for organic prices are
between 9%-78% the price of conventional products. In China the
premium can be up to 700%, with most demand coming from the wealthier
expat communities and the richer urban areas.
Europe
As
in the rest of the world, the organic market in Europe continues to
grow and more land is farmed organically each year. "More
farmers cultivate organically, more land is certified organic, and
more countries report organic farming activities" as per the
2016 edition of the study "The
World of Organic Agriculture"
according to data from the end of 2014 published by FiBL and IFOAM in
2016.
In
2007, more than 200,000 farms managed 7.8 million hectares in Europe
organically. In the European Union, 7.2 million hectares were under
organic management, with more than 180,000 organic farms. 1.9 percent
of the European agricultural area and four percent of the
agricultural area in the European Union is organic. As of 2007,
twenty-four percent of the world's organic land was in Europe. The
countries with the largest organic area were Italy (1,150,253
hectares), Spain (988,323 hectares) and Germany (865,336 hectares).
The highest percentages were in Liechtenstein (29 percent), Austria
(13 percent) and Switzerland (11 percent). The amount of hectares
managed organically continues to increase. As of 2016, 27 percent, or
11.6 million hectares, of the total global organic agricultural land
is in Europe (2016
Report- FiBL).
In
2007, sales of organic products were approximately 16 billion Euros.
In 2007 the largest market for organic products was Germany with a
turnover of 5.3 billion Euros, followed by the UK (2.6 billion
Euros), France and Italy (both 1.9 billion Euros). In 2012 the total
market share for organic products reached 7.8 percent in Denmark, the
highest market share in the world. According to the 2016
FiBL/ IFOAM
Report,
in Europe the largest market of organic food sales is in Germany (7.9
billion Euros) and France (4.8 billion Euros) (FiBL and IFOAM –
2016).
There
was also an increase in growth in 2014 in Sweden In 2014, "by
more than 40 percent – a remarkable rate for an already
well-established market" (FiBL).
In terms of sales of organic food products per capita, Switzerland
(221 Euros) and Luxembourg (164 Euros) remain the highest in the 2014
statistics (FiBL
and IFOAM- 2016).
According
to Organic
Europe,
the organic food product market in France more than doubled between
2007 and 2013. The top selling products in the French organic market
were "dry grocery products, canned foods, oils, dairy products,
and fresh fruits and vegetables. The market channels for these goods
are: General retailers (45.6%), specialized organic retailers
(34.1%), small shops, such as bakeries and butchers (4.4%), direct
sales (11.8%), catering (4.0%). Some notable exports and imports
include "Wine, selected categories of fruit and vegetables
(cabbages, apricots, salads, nuts), and high value products (French
specialties and delicatessen)" (Organic
Europe- Country Report- France- 2012).
In
terms of an organic logo, "There is a French logo, the AB mark,
which is owned by the French Ministry of Agriculture which is used
according to the AB mark rules" (Organic
Europe- Country Report- France- 2012.
There are also plans and policies in place in order to help promote
organic and Biodynamic products in the market place. Some examples
include the National action plan, the EU rural development program,
etc. National action plan: The action plan Ambition Bio 2017 has the
general goals of doubling the proportion of land farmed organically
by the end of 2017, and promoting consumption of organic products.
There are six main areas of activity: developing production;
strengthening the organic food chain; developing domestic consumption
and exports; strengthening research and the dissemination of results;
training actors in the organic food chain; and adapting regulations.
The EU rural development program that provides, "Compensatory
payments are available for the conversion and maintenance of organic
farms" (Organic Europe – 2012). Additionally, "Further
policy support is given for the promotion of organic farming, food
chain development, and research and extension services".
(Organic
Europe-2012).
Biodynamic
and
Organic Agriculture in France:
Support
for organic farming in the European Union and the neighboring
countries includes grants under rural development programs, legal
protection and a European as well as national action plans. One of
the key instruments of the European Action Plan on organic food and
farming, an information campaign, was launched during 2008, with the
aim of increasing awareness of organic farming throughout the
European Union. Furthermore, most EU member states have national
action plans. In order to boost organic farming research, a
technology platform joining the efforts of industry and civil society
in defining organic research priorities and defending them vis-à-vis
the policy-makers was launched in December 2008. The platform’s
vision paper reveals the potential of organic food production to
mitigate some of the major global problems from climate change and
food security, to the whole range of socio-economic challenges in the
rural areas. (FiBL,
IFOAM, ITC 2009).
North America
In
North America, almost 2.2 million hectares are managed organically,
representing approximately a 0.6 percent share of the total
agricultural area. There are 12,064 organic farms. The major part of
the organic land is in the US (1.6 million hectares in 2005). Seven
percent of the world’s organic agricultural land is in North
America. Valued at more than 20 billion US Dollars in 2007 (Organic
Monitor), the North American market accounted for 45 percent of
global revenues. Growing consumer demand for healthy & nutritious
foods and increasing distribution in conventional grocery channels
are the major drivers of market growth. The U.S. organic industry
grew 21 percent in sales in 2006, and was forecast to experience 18
percent sales growth each year on average from 2007 through 2010.
Whether this rate will actually be realized is uncertain due to the
economic downturn and reduction in consumer spending in the last
quarter of 2008. Likewise, a downturn is expected in Canada, even
though the market growth in Canada, paired with the introduction of
the new organic regulations, should provide a good outlook over the
coming years. In the United States, the National Organic Program has
been in force since 2002. Canada has had a strong organic standard
since 1999; this had been, however, voluntary and not supported by
regulation. Canada’s Organic Product Regulation will be fully
implemented on June 30, 2009. Canadian labeling requirements will be
very similar to those of the US and the EU. In 2008, the new Farm
Bill was passed by the US Congress. Increasing expenditures on
organic agriculture and programs to approximately 112 million US
Dollars1 over the course of its five-year life, the 2008 Farm Bill
provides a fivefold increase for the organic sector compared with
federal funding in the previous bill. (FiBL,
IFOAM, ITC 2009).
Organic
farms in the United States had sales totaling $5.5 billion in 2014, a
72 percent increase from the 2008 total.
