Despite impressive sales, growth in the British organic food market has been hampered by supply problems, as British producers struggle to satisfy the public's growing appetite for home-grown organics.
A new report from Mintel - 'Organic Food in the UK' - has found that seven in ten (71 per cent) Brits have bought organic produce over the last year, and sales of organic food are now worth £1.5 billion, up by some 70 per cent since 2002. During this time, a growing awareness of food miles has increasingly shifted people’s focus towards locally sourced, organic produce, and as a result imported varieties now account for just 30 per cent of the market (down from 70 per cent back in 2002).
Mintel believes that this dramatic shift towards British organic food has in fact created serious supply problems for the organic industry - there is simply not enough British grown organic food to satisfy demand. This, in turn, has held the market back from achieving its full potential.
“The lengthy conversion process from regular to organic farming takes several years to complete,” said David Bird, senior market analyst at Mintel. “Because of this, many producers have not been able to react quickly to satisfy the growing demand for home-grown, organic food. And this has undoubtedly had a huge impact on the growth of the market.”
Although organic box schemes still only make up a small percentage of the market, they have been a huge success. Sales of organic boxes have more than doubled (109 per cent increase) in the last two years alone, with the market now worth some £150 million.
“Organic boxes are a prime example of how successful a combination of organic and local sourcing can be,” said Bird. “Looking ahead, British interest in local organic food is only likely to increase. To try and stem future supply problems, the industry needs to convince more farmers that it is worth going organic, and that there is a lot of potential in being able to offer people organic produce that is locally sourced."
No comments yet