Organic farming continues to grow unstoppable
The latest data on organic farming around the world will be presented by the FiBL Organic Agriculture Research Institute and IFOAM – Organics International at BIOFACH, the world’s leading trade fair for organic food. The statistical yearbook “The World of Organic Agriculture” will be published today, Wednesday, February 17, 2021, from 4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. (CET) in this year’s digital edition of BIOFACH eSpecial 2021.
March 8, 2021
The 22nd edition of the study ” The World of Organic Agriculture ” published by FiBL and IFOAM – Organics International shows a continuation of the positive trend observed in recent years. This annual survey on organic farming around the world is supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the International Trade Center (ITC), the Swiss Coop Sustainability Fund and NürnbergMesse, the organizers of the BIOFACH fair.
The global organic food market
The global market for organic food reached 106,000 million euros in 2019. The United States is the leading market (44,700 million euros), followed by Germany (12,000 million euros) and France (11,300 million euros). In 2019, many major markets continued to show strong growth rates; for example, the French market increased more than 13%. Danish and Swiss consumers spent more on organic food (344 and 338 euros per capita, respectively). Denmark had the highest organic market share, with 12.1% of its total food market.
3.1 million organic producers worldwide
In 2019, 3.1 million organic producers were reported. India remains the country with the highest number of producers (1,366,000), followed by Uganda (210,000) and Ethiopia (204,000). Most small producers are certified in groups based on an internal control system.
A steady increase in land dedicated to organic farming.
A total of 72.3 million hectares were cultivated in organic production at the end of 2019, representing a growth of 1.6% or 1.1 million hectares compared to 2018. Australia has the largest organic agricultural area (35.7 million hectares), followed by Argentina (3.7 million hectares) and Spain (2.4 million hectares). Due to the large area under organic farming in Australia, half of the world’s organic farmland is in Oceania (36.0 million hectares). Europe has the second largest area (16.5 million hectares), followed by Latin America (8.3 million hectares). The area under organic production increased on all continents compared to 2018, except in Asia (mainly due to a fall in agricultural land dedicated to organic production reported from China) and Oceania.
10% or more of agricultural land is organic in 16 countries
Globally, 1.5% of agricultural land is dedicated to organic farming. However, many countries have much higher quotas. The countries with the highest organic share of their total agricultural land are Liechtenstein (41%), Austria (26.1%) and São Tomé and Príncipe (24.9%). Some states in India are or aspire to be 100% green in the coming years. In 16 countries, 10% or more of all agricultural land is cultivated in organic production.