Sales of organic food, drink and other products slumped by 12.9% in the UK last year as producers battled against a downturn in consumer demand and the worst trading climate for 20 years, new figures reveal today. Cost-conscious shoppers turned their backs most decisively on organic fruit, vegetables, meat and bread, where the price differential with the non-organic equivalent has traditionally been the biggest.Home delivery organic vegetable and fruit boxes also fell out of favour, with a 9.8% slump in sales, while sales of organic goods in supermarkets fell by 12.2%, and in the independent sector – farm shops and health food outlets – by 17.7%.
Overall, organic sales fell last year from a record high of £2.1bn in 2008 to £1.84bn, according to the Organic Market Report 2010, released at the Natural and Organic Products Europe show in London. The report provides the most up-to-date analysis of the organic market, examining the performance of different sectors and polling consumers. It is produced every year by the Soil Association, which promotes organic farming and food in the UK as well as overseeing the main accreditation scheme.
Despite the publicity given to animal welfare by chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, consumers also fell out of love with expensive organic meat. Demand for organic beef fell by 30% and lamb by 10%, with organic chicken production slashed by 20% as retailers responded to falling demand by reducing shelf space. Sales of fresh poultry and game slumped by 28.2%.
But on a positive note, the report also indicates clear signs of increasing confidence among consumers. Based on evidence from the early months of this year, the Soil Association predicts a modest market expansion of between 2% and 5% in 2010.
Among the three supermarkets with the biggest share of the organic market – Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose – it is the latter that has proved most resilient. Its organic sales dipped by only 3.5% and it is now predicting growth of 3%-5% this year. Tesco said its sales of organic vegetables were increasing after more than a year of decline.
Last year a controversial Food Standards Agency study reported that there were "no important differences in the nutrition content, or any additional health benefits, of organic food when compared with conventionally produced food."
Despite the slump, the report shows that sales of organic food are still three times higher than in 1999 and more than 50% higher than five years ago. And organic health and beauty products have continued to grow rapidly, with sales increasing by a third to £36m.
Rachel Watson, director of Riverford, the UK's largest provider of fruit and vegetable box schemes, said the company was confident about the future.
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