UK market 2006

• The number of registered organic processors has increased by 13 % to 2,404 in December 2006 Sales

• Retail sales of organic products continued to increase in 2006, and were worth an estimated Ł1,937 million in 2006.

o Direct sales of organic food through box schemes, farmers' markets and farm shops grew by 54% to Ł146 million during 2006

o Sales of organic products sold through supermarkets increased by 21% in the same time period

o Imports of organic produce sold by some supermarkets increased by 1% from 46% in 2003 to 47% in 2005 and reduced to 34% in 2006.

Further UK data is available at: To access DEFRA organic statistics please click here or telephone 020 7533 5888 To purchase a copy of the Soil Associations 'Organic Market Report 2007', please telephone 0117 914 2433 or visit www.soilassociation.org. For further information on the report's contents please contact Sally Williamson, swilliamson@soilassociation.org.To access DEFRA organic statistics please click here or telephone 020 7533 5888

To purchase a copy of the Soil Associations 'Organic Market Report 2007', please telephone 0117 914 2433 or visit www.soilassociation.org. For further information on the report's contents please contact Sally Williamson, swilliamson@soilassociation.org.

[1] Information is taken from the DEFRA organic statistics January 2007 and the Soil Association’s ‘Organic Market Report 2007’.

By December 2006, 619,783 ha of agricultural land in the UK were managed organically. This represents 3.6 % of UK farmland on 4,639 organic farms. The area has remained similar to last year. However, the area of in-conversion land in the UK increased by 40% in 2006. Of the 619,783 ha, 498,646 ha (80 %) were fully organic, the remaining 121,137 ha (20 %) being in conversion. Figure 1 shows the changes in the area under organic management between 2002 and 2006. For more information about the amount of organic land per nation follow the link

Figure 1: Organically managed land in the UK, December 1998 to December 2006 (ha)

Figure 2: Organically managed land in the UK, December 2002 to December 2006 (ha)

The number of registered organic producers has increased by 8 per cent between December 2005 and December 2006, to 4,639 (see figure 3). Organic holdings represent 1.3 per cent of all agricultural holdings in the UK.

The number of registered organic processors has increased by 13 % to 2,404 in December 2006 .This is encouraging as it indicates that consumer demand for high quality organic products continues to grow.

Figure 3: Number of registered organic producers in the UK, April 1997 to December 2006

Within the UK, England is the nation with the largest area of organically managed land - a total of 296,385 ha - 48 % of the UK’s total. Wales has the highest percentage of agricultural land managed organically, 5.5%, followed by Scotland with 4.2% (see Figure 4). The organically managed land in Scotland has reduced enormously in recent years, from 428,608 at the end of 2002end 2002 to 235,298 at the end of 2006end 2006

Figure 4: Organically managed land in the UK, by nation, between December 2002 to December 2006 (proportion of total land area)

At the end of 2006, England had 296,385 ha of organically managed land. The area has increased by 2% between December 2005 and December 2006 and by 18% over the last 4 years.

The area of organically managed land in Wales increased by 11%, to 78,973 ha, out performing every other nation in the UK – Wales now has 12.7 % of the UK’s total organically managed land. For more detailed information on organic land in Wales click here.

Northern Ireland has seen a 4% decrease in the area of land under organic management between December 2005 and December 2006, to 9,127 ha. This still represents an increase of 62% over the last 4 years. Organically managed land in Northern Ireland now accounts for 1.5 % of the total organically managed land in the UK.

Table 1: National distribution of organically managed land in the UK, December 2002 to December 2006

A total of 525,269 ha, representing 84.8% of the total organically managed land area, is grassland, of which 80% is permanent pasture and 20% is temporary pasture. The area under permanent grassland decreased in 2006.

The biggest increase in organic production by sector was the area under herbs and ornamentals. This increased by 395% in the last 4 years to 615 ha in December 2006. The area of fully organic fruit and vegetables grew between December 2005 and December 2006 by? 9%, fruit and nuts by 4 % and woodland by 20%. In the same time period, the area of set aside decreased by 42%.

The Figure below shows the changes in the areas grown of the different sectors between 2003 and 2006. (see also table 2 for data)

Figure 5. Fully organic land by sector, end 2002-end 2006 (x 1,000 hectares)[1]

[1] Please note that UK horticulture figures include peas, beans, turnip, Swedes and kale for fodder and combining

UK organic horticultural land is increasing but not at the same rate as the market. It is predicted that UK self sufficiency (which has increased to 62% over the last four to five years will fall away as imports increase to fill the widening gap between UK production and UK consumption. (see also market review, 2007)

The latest organic statistics data from DEFRA (2007) show that the area under organic arable production decreased by 6% to 43,945 ha in December 2006.

The figure below gives an overview of the livestock, pig and poultry sectors in the different nations within the UK. England produces the majority of animals. However, Wales produces almost an equal amount of sheep to England and Northern Ireland contributes more than a quarter to the UK Poultry production.

Table 2: Organically managed land in the UK, April 2003s to December 2006 by enterprise [1]

		Dec 2002	Dec 2003	Dec 2004	Dec 2005	Dec 2006
Cereals	in-conversion	11,230	7,016	4,144	10,265	11,907
Cereals	Organic	25,661	35,359	35,147	37,429	35,550
Fruit & nuts (nuts not included in Mar 03)	in-conversion	416	229	179	166	213
Fruit & nuts (nuts not included in Mar 03)	Organic	1,473	1,385	1,480	1,525	1,581
Herbs & ornamentals (included nuts in Mar 03)	in-conversion	63	51	11	186	78
Herbs & ornamentals (included nuts in Mar 03)	Organic	156	182	244	626	615
Non cropping	in-conversion	187	265	2,873	1,108	2,263
Non cropping	Organic	1,390	882	1,294	2,405	4,050
Other crops	in-conversion	6,498	1,926	2,728	3,504	3,440
Other crops	Organic	14,098	7,538	10,200	7,284	6,762
Permanent pasture (a)	in-conversion	159,062	38,145	27,249	47,451	72,141
Permanent pasture (a)	Organic	413,895	481,278	467,777	380,880	350,467
Set aside	in-conversion	3,490	2,326	1,304	1,434	1,060
Set aside	Organic	3,440	4,620	4,608	2,309	1,348
Temporary pasture	in-conversion	18,065	12,680	10,392	15,865	22,886
Temporary pasture	Organic	58,861	77,341	80,337	82,043	79,776
Unknown	in-conversion	791	459	145	79	763
Unknown	Organic	2,417	786	351	429	564
Vegetables (including potatoes)	in-conversion	3,009	1,932	1,347	1,305	2,057
Vegetables (including potatoes)	Organic	9,733	11,739	12,746	12,413	13,486
Woodland	in-conversion	1,107	686	625	3,511	4,154
Woodland	Organic	5,557	4,816	5,219	3,345	4,006
Other	in-conversion	389	311	1,749	1,077	176
Other	Organic	186	3,027	2,357	3,213	441
Total	in-conversion	204,308	66,026	52,746	85,951	121,137
Total	Organic	536,866	628,953	621,760	533,902	498,646

[1] Please note that UK horticulture figures include peas, beans, turnip, Swedes and kale for fodder and combining

In 2006, retail sales of organic products in the UK were estimated at Ł1.9 billion. This represents a 22% increase since 2005. It is estimated that 75% of these sales are through the supermarkets, 7 % via producer retailers (boxes and mail order schemes, farm shops and farm gate) and 18 % via non-producer retailers (retail shops, box and mail order schemes and other).

.Retail sales of organic products through box and mail order schemes increased by an estimated 53% – from Ł95 million in 2005 to Ł146 million in 2006.

An average of 66% of the organic primary produce sold by the multiple retailers was sourced in the UK, representing no change since 2005 – meat (79% UK sourced), dairy and eggs (96% UK sourced), vegetables (73% UK sourced), apples (12% UK sourced). (SA market report 2007).

Figure 8. Organic share of total category value in the multiple retailers 2006 (%)

.The UK organic market is currently the third largest in Europe after Germany and Italy. (For more details about organic farming and sales/ market in Europe, please follow the link).

Dairy market
The market for organic dairy products (yogurts, desserts, milk, cheese and butter), was worth an estimated Ł310 million in the year to June 2007. Dairy products accounted for 16% of the UK organic market in 1998/99, but sales have grown with the increase coming mainly from increased sales of organic liquid milk, yoghurts and to a smaller extent, ice cream and cheese. The majority of organic milk enters the liquid market. (Welsh organic market review, 2007)

The UK position for the supply and demand of organic cereals is giving considerable cause for concern at the present, particularly in the area of organic livestock feed. This has been brought about by marked increases in organic milk, pork, egg and poultry sales coupled with continuing expansion of the red meat sectors. This has led to a considerable imbalance that is likely to get worse over the coming years, something that will be amplified by changes in the standards with respect to non organic feed allowances. It is estimated that the UK is around 60% self sufficient in home produced feed grain – the shortfall is made up of imports from around the world and a number of factors are threatening the security of supply from many of the exporting countries. (Welsh Market Review, 2007)

The organic fruit and vegetable market reported exceptionally high growth in 2006, with sales increasing by almost a third to Ł672 million. The organic fruit market reported the highest growth with sales volume overtaking organic vegetable volume for the first time. Total organic fresh produce volumes reached almost 400,000 tonnes in 2006 and are ready to approach the half million tonnes mark this year. The market is showing high growth because of the following factors:

• The rising number of organic fresh produce box schemes” (Organic Monitor, 2007) (market review, 2007)

MLC estimates domestic UK organic beef production in 2005 to be 8,500 tonnes (RMIF, 2006), but with only 7,000 tonnes (carcase weight equivalent) marketed as organic, representing 1.1% of total UK beef consumption. The values for 2006 were expected to be 15-20% higher. The forecasts for 2010 imply a doubling in current production levels will be required.

Industry sources indicate that while there is currently an excess of demand leading to strong prices for organic beef and lamb, the current increases in domestic supply will lead to the gap closing in the foreseeable future. This has been accelerated by the restarting of Argentinean and other beef imports by Tesco. (Welsh market review, 2007)

The UK organic farming and organic market in figures