Organics in Top Five of Australia's Growth Industries

[markB]

Organics is one of Australia’s top five growth industries, becoming mainstream according to a new report.

The report says that supermarkets are fast embracing organics, with growth propelled by the average Australian while more than 1 in 20 are regular shoppers of organics and almost 2 in 3 have bought organic in the past year.

The biennial independent Australian Organic Market Report 2012, commissioned by leading organic body Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA), incorporates research from Swinburne University, ABS statistics and world outlook information for the first time, as well as exclusive survey work by a specialist market research group.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE

· The average growth projection for the coming years is 10-15%, reflecting the growth from the past two years – more than the 2-11% growth trends internationally and well above growth rates for conventional food and beverages.

· Retailer-owned private labels are increasingly entering the market e.g. Coles, Woolworths and ALDI in the past few years launched their own organic UHT and/or extended shelf life fresh milks.

· Fresh fruit and vegetables (60% of consumers claimed to purchase in the past year) are the most commonly bought organic products, followed by cooking ingredients (45%), canned goods (39%), bread (39%), red meat (35%) and dairy products (34%).

· A further 13% of consumers estimate they spend between 10 and 20% of their average household total food budget on organic products, with the remainder spending 10% or less.

· Four of the five top perceived benefits continue to revolve around what organic food ‘does not contain’. These are Chemical-free (79%), Additive-free (77%), Hormone/antibiotic-free meat (64%) and Non-GMO (62%).

· Approximately 5% of organic shopping is done either online or via direct methods such as home delivery.

· 36% of Australian adults say that they would reject a product claiming to be organic if it wasn’t certified.

· Of the 1.6 million organic producers 34% are located in Africa, 29% in Asia and 18% in Europe. The countries with the greatest number of organic producers are developing countries including India (400,551), Uganda (188,625) and Mexico (128,862). Markets for organic food products in India grew by over 20% between 2011 and 2012.

More info www.bfa.com.au