How Welsh Farmers Are Struggling to Keep Up With Our Love of Organic Food
Posted on: Friday, 25 January 2008, 18:00 CST
By Sally Williams
Our growing appetite for organic food threatens to outpace supply from Wales and the rest of the UK, warns a new report. Market analyst Mintel says one in seven people in Wales has been buying organically-produced food over the past 12 months. The research expects meat to experience the biggest surge in popularity of all organic produce, with an estimated jump in sales of 71% over the next five years. The entire organic food market is now worth pounds 1.5bn, up 70% since 2002 and set to increase a further 54% by 2012, Mintel predicts. But it said soaring demand for British organic food has created supply problems and the market has not achieved its full potential because of these limitations.
David Bird, senior market analyst for Mintel, explained, "The lengthy conversion process from regular to organic farming takes several years to complete. Because of this many producers have not been able to react quickly to satisfy the growing demand for home grown organic food."
Mr Bird said the industry needed to persuade more farmers that going organic would be worth their while.
Fruit, vegetables and dairy products have been the most successful organic products to date, the Organic Food in the UK report found.
Lindsey Kearton, senior policy officer for the Welsh Consumer Council, said strengthening local supply chains will be critical to ensure fresh local and seasonal produce is available and accessible to everyone in Wales.
She said, "People generally believe organic food is healthier and tastes better and by buying local they feel they're helping to support local farmers and producers.
"Buying locally produced organic food is the preferable option as we have seen by the growing popularity of farmers' markets and organic box schemes.
"However on a larger scale we have unfortunately seen a decline in fruit and vegetable production in Wales in recent times so local supply isn't always able to satisfy the current demand. As a result, many people find themselves shopping for organic food in supermarkets which has often been shipped or flown in from around the world."
She said she welcomed current efforts by the Welsh Assembly Government to reverse this situation and to lobby for greater support for horticultural growers in Wales under further reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.
Phil Stocker, head of food and farming at the Soil Association, said, "We are aware of the growing demand for organic and we are working with our farmers to help meet that demand and also working to get more organic farmers on board."
To meet consumer demand he said the Soil Association has a dedicated food and farming team who work with organic producers.
It is to continue to run a range of organic conversion events across the UK in 2008 for farmers interested in going organic - so they are aware of market opportunities.
And it is trying to connect supply chains - linking farms with retailers plus school and hospital meal providers.
Brian Walters, vice president of the Farmers' Union of Wales, who is also an organic dairy farmer in Carmarthenshire, said all barriers to local supply chains should be removed. He said, "For example, the costs of registering small slaughterhouses with the Soil Association has in the past been prohibitive, which actually restricts access to markets. "It is also important that people are not buying into a false lifestyle. "To buy organic Welsh milk in the UK is totally different to buying organic vegetables that have been flown in from the other side of the world - the labelling therefore needs to be clearer."
(c) 2008 Western Mail. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Western Mail
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