Global organic trade strong; spurts $5 billion in single year

The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) und the Foundation Ecology and Agriculture (SÖL) released the latest figures on the state of global organics at this year's  BioFach 2008 in late February. The study shows that 30.4 million hectares are currently certified according to organic standards (data as at the end of 2006).
Australia continues to account for the largest certified organic surface area, with 12.3 million hectares, followed by China (2.3 million hectares), Argentina (2.2 million hectares) and the USA (1.6 million hectares).
Compared to the adjusted data of the previous survey, the global organic area grew by approximately 1.8 million hectares during 2006. Growth was strongest in Oceania/Australia (more than 600,000 hectares) and Europe (more than 500,000 hectares). From the first figures available for 2007, Helga Willer of FiBL expects that the area under organic management has continued to grow.
The global market for organic products reached a value of 38.6 billion US Dollars in 2006, with the vast majority of products being consumed in North America and Europe, according to Organic Monitor. This constitutes a growth of five billion US Dollars compared to the 2005 data. Healthy growth rates are expected to continue in the coming years.