Organic certification for pizza

Courtesy: Organic certification for pizza

Organic agriculture has higher potential costs due to lower yields and higher labor costs, leading to higher consumer prices. Demand for organic foods is primarily driven by concerns for personal health and for the environment. Global sales for organic foods climbed by more than 170 percent since 2002 reaching more than $63 billion in 2011 while certified organic farmland remained relatively small at less than 2 percent of total farmland under production, increasing in OECD and EU countries (which account for the majority of organic production) by 35 percent for the same time period. Organic products typically cost 10 to 40% more than similar conventionally produced products, to several times the price. Processed organic foods vary in price when compared to their conventional counterparts.

While organic food accounts for about 1% of total food production worldwide, the organic food sales market is growing rapidly with between 5 and 10 percent of the food market share in the United States according to the Organic Trade Association, significantly outpacing sales growth volume in dollars of conventional food products. World organic food sales jumped from US$23 billion in 2002 to $63 billion in 2011.

Asia

Production and consumption of organic products is rising rapidly in Asia, and both China and India are becoming global producers of organic crops and a number of countries, particularly China and Japan, also becoming large consumers of organic food and drink. The disparity between production and demand, is leading to a two-tier organic food industry, typified by significant and growing imports of primary organic products such as dairy and beef from Australia, Europe, New Zealand and the United States. China

• China’s organic food production was originally for exportation in the early 2000s. Due to the food safety crisis since the late 2000s, China’s domestic market outweighed the exportation market. The organic food production in China involves diverse players. Besides certified organic food production mainly conducted by private organic food companies, there are also non-certified organic farming practiced by entrepreneurs and civil society organizations. These initiatives have unique marketing channels such as ecological farmers’ markets and community-supported agriculture emerging in and around Chinese major cities.
• China’s domestic organic market is the fourth largest in the world. The Chinese Organic Food Development Center estimated domestic sales of organic food products to be around US$500 million per annum as of 2013. This is predicted to increase by 30 percent to 50 percent in 2014. As of 2015, organic foods made up about 1% of the total Chinese food market.
• China is the world’s biggest infant formula market with $12.4 billion in sales annually; of this, organic infant formula and baby food accounted for approximately 5.5 per cent of sales in 2011. Australian organic infant formula and baby food producer Bellamy’s Organic have reported that their sales in this market grew 70 per cent annually over the period 2008–2013, while Organic Dairy Farmers of Australia, reported that exports of long-life organic milk to China had grown by 20 to 30 per cent per year over the same period.

Sri Lanka

In April 2021, Sri Lanka started its “100% organic farming” program, banning imports of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. In November 2021, it was announced that the country will lift its import ban, explained by both a lack of sudden changes to widely applied practices or education systems and contemporary economics and, by extension, food security, protests and high food costs. The effort for the first transition to a completely organic farming nation was further challenged by effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bhutan

In 2013 the government of Bhutan announced that the country will become the first in the world with 100% organic farming and started a program for qualification. This program is being supported by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). A 2021 news report found that “globally, only Bhutan has a complete ban on synthetic pesticides”. A 2018 study found that “current organic by default farming practices in Bhutan are still underdeveloped”.JapanIn 2010, the Japanese organic market was estimated to be around $1.3 billion

North America

As of October 2014, Trader Joe’s is a market leader of organic grocery stores in the United States.United States

• Organic food is the fastest growing sector of the American food industry.
• In 2005 the organic food market was only worth about US$13 billion. By 2012 the total size of the organic food market in the United States was about $30 billion (out of the total market for organic and natural consumer products being about $81 billion) In 2020 the organic food market was worth over $56 billion.
• Organic food sales have grown by 17 to 20 percent a year in the early 2000s while sales of conventional food have grown only about 2 to 3 percent a year. The US organic market grew 9.5% in 2011, breaking the $30bn barrier for the first time, and continued to outpace sales of non-organic food.
• In 2003 organic products were available in nearly 20,000 natural food stores and 73% of conventional grocery stores.
• Organic products accounted for 3.7% of total food and beverage sales, and 11.4% of all fruit and vegetable sales in the year 2009.
• As of 2012, many independent organic food processors in the USA had been acquired by multinational firms.
• For a product to become USDA organic certified, the farmer cannot plant genetically modified seeds and livestock cannot eat genetically modified plants. Farmers must provide substantial evidence showing there was no genetic modification involved in the operation.

Canada

• Organic food sales surpassed $1 billion in 2006, accounting for 0.9% of food sales in Canada. By 2012, Canadian organic food sales reached $3 billion.
• British Columbians account for 13% of the Canadian population, but purchased 26% of the organic food sold in Canada in 2006.