According to statistics published by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and EU lobby IFOAM Organics Europe, organic agriculture reached the highest growth rate in a decade, so that the organic market increased by 15% and retail sales reached €52 billion across Europe, reported by the FiBL.
Within the EU, retail sales hit €44.8 billion, making the bloc the second-largest market for organics, just after the United States and ahead of China.
The amount of organic farmland also increased in the EU, spanning 14.9 million hectares. Still, according to IFOAM, organic farmland growth slowed down compared to prior years. France, Spain, Italy and Germany are the bloc’s top organic powerhouses, with Paris leading the way in terms of agricultural land classified as organic (2.5 million hectares). Italy, meanwhile, has the highest number of active organic farmers (71,590) followed by France (53,255) and Spain (44,493).
The report comes as MEPs and EU countries negotiate a reform of the rules governing the collection and publication of EU statistics for the agri-food sector. Organic farming groups see this as a prime opportunity to gather more data on the topic, especially since Brussels wants to ramp up sustainable farm practices under the Farm to Fork strategy.
Impulse previously reported that EU set to approve emission-cutting feed additive.
