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British Organic Food Rakes in 2 Billion Dollars a Year

Posted on: Friday, 23 December 2005, 09:00 CST

British organic food rakes in 2 billion dollars a year

LONDON, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Latest research indicates that Britain's organic food sales have doubled since 2000 and are now worth 1.2 billion pounds (about 2 billion U.S. dollars) a year.

The sales increase is a result of people's growing concerns on health, environment and food safety, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Thursday quoted researchers Mintel as saying.

Affluent shoppers were the major drive behind the organic craze and sales were also rising among lower-income consumers.

A survey conducted by Mintel on 1,519 people found that merely 29 percent said they had never bought organic food, and Mintel predicted the sales of organic food would reach 2 billion pounds (about 3.48 billion dollars) by 2010.

Organic fruit and vegetables earned 442 million pounds (about 769 million dollars) this year, making up 37 percent of the total market.

But the biggest rise is in meat and poultry sales - up nearly 150 percent between 2000 and 2005. An estimated 26 percent of consumers had bought organic meat in the last 12 months, up from 19 percent in 2001.

"Despite the fact that organic products account for little more than 1 percent of overall food and drink sales, there is no doubt that these products have joined the mainstream," said senior market analyst Julie Sloan.

The age group that most likely to have bought organic food in the last year was 55 to 64-year-olds, with two-thirds of them choosing organic at least once compared with 54 percent of all British adults.

"In our perception, there is tremendous underlying interest in sustainable production and locally-sourced food which are rightly seen as offering potential solutions to current debates about protecting the environment, food security, animal welfare and other issues," said Patrick Holden, director of Soil Association.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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