Spain has continued to maintain its position as Europe’s principal producer of organic fruits and vegetables, although consumption of the products within the country has not shown any signs of increasing.
Given this comparative lack of progress made by the sector in the country’s domestic market, the Spain’s government is now calling on Spanish producers and marketers to make greater efforts to increase awareness and distribution of their products.
In a speech to Spanish organic conference BioCultura this week, Isabel Bombal, director general of food markets at the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, said that Spain remains Europe’s leading organic producer, with more than 1.6m ha of production.
However, she noted that the uptake of organic products among Spanish consumers had not reached a similar proportion to countries at an equivalent level of economic development.
Quoting research carried out into the organic market in Spain, Ms Bombal said that although 64 per cent of Spanish consumers said they had bought organic products at least once, many were deterred by the higher price tag and a general lack of availability.
The survey also found that while 58 per cent of shoppers could see organic goods in their usual grocery outlet, the range of products available was very limited.
To respond to this, Ms Bombal called on all elements of the Spanish organic sector to work together on initiatives that can bring organic products closer to Spanish consumers, from better information to improved access to the goods through all distribution channels.
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