Organic sales crack 10 billion € - each 10. German farm makes organic

Nuremberg / Berlin, February 14.02.2018, 2017. "In 500, an average of five farmers converted an agricultural area of ​​around XNUMX football fields to organic every day," commented Peter Röhrig, Managing Director of the Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft (BÖLW), on the occasion of the balance sheet press conference of the organic sector at the start of BIOFACH on the strong organic interest shown by German farmers .

"Organic is offering more and more farmers an important perspective to give their farm a future," says Röhrig with a view to the strong changeover dynamics in 2017. According to current BÖLW estimates, the domestic organic area increased by 2017 hectares in 124.647 (10%) ) on a total of 1.375.967 hectares - 8,2% of the total agricultural area is managed by Germany's organic farmers. More than anyone10. Farm (10,9%) makes organic. A total of 29.174 or 2.042 more farms than in the previous year manage their farm organically. At the same time, too many businesses in Germany had to close their doors forever - in 2017 alone the number of all farms fell by around 7.600 to 267.800 businesses.

"2017 was transposed with Bio for the first time over 10 billion €", Peter Röhrig comments on the strong sales growth of the German organic market. "More and more customers are buying more and more organic. For more and more people want to strengthen local farmers, climate and biodiversity, animal welfare and the health of their families and the environment. "According to the calculation of the" working group organic market " Organic food and beverages increased sales by 5,9% and total marketed 10,04 billion € (2016: 9,48 billion €).

The organic food trade increased its sales by 2,2%, generated 2,91 billion € (including non-food: 3,29 billion €) and placed 2017 in the organic market of 29%.

Sales in the food retail sector (LEH) increased at an above-average rate of 8,8% to organic sales of 5,93 billion €. The LEH reached 2017 thus a share in the organic market of 59%. The discounters, who recently significantly broadened their organic product ranges, caught up with many products.

In the other businesses, customers purchased organic products worth 1,20 billion €.

The BÖLW chairman Felix Prinz zu Löwenstein appealed to the Federal Government to use the great potential for organic farming from the field to the plate for a sustainable restructuring of nutrition and agriculture: "The positive organic development shows that the political support in the federal government and in many states acts. Because in recent years, more farmers have switched to organic. This benefits farmers, the environment and customers. For the next few months, it is important that the federal government, the states and the EU formulate the new organic law. It is also important to provide more money for research and development, to ensure reliable environmental benefits, and thus to promote the sales development of domestic organic products. In order to succeed in the reconstruction, the entire federal government has to grab hold of it. Because many departments jointly determine how agriculture, trade and nutrition will be shaped in the future. "

With the 'Future Strategy Organic Farming' (ZöL), the Federal Government could, with consistent implementation, set important initial impulses here. It is also good that the coalition agreement with 2030 set a concrete date for the target of 20% organic land.

It is important to use Bio for a better and healthier diet in the out-of-home catering, as Copenhagen fights it. The appointment of the Coalition Agreement to invest more in schools must be used to provide better nutrition education with school kitchens and gardens in each school.

Löwenstein continued: "The Common European Agricultural Policy must be geared towards using taxpayers' money to support farmers who protect the environment, animals, water, biodiversity and the climate. Organic farmers have been showing in Germany and worldwide for many years how organic agriculture is not only economical, but also ecologically successful. "