Des Moines Register
By Philip Brasher – [email protected]
The organic industry continued to grow last year despite the tough economy. According to data compiled by the Organic Trade Association today, sales of organic food rose 15.8 percent between 2007 and 2008 to $22.9 billion. Organic foods now represent about 3.5 percent of total supermarket sales.
However, the industry’s growth rate last year was its slowest since 2004, when the year-to-year increase was 14.6 percent. Organic food sales grew 20.9 percent in 2006 and 18.5 percent in 2007, according to OTA.
Fruits and vegetables are far and away the dominant category among organic products, with $8.5 billion in sales last year, up 6.3 percent from 2007.
Organic fruits and vegetables now account for nearly 10 percent of total produce sales.
Growth topped 30 percent in two other significant segments, breads and non-dairy beverages.
But sales of organic meat, a business that’s struggled to cope with high feed costs, continue to lag far behind at just $448 million in 2008 – Organic’s share of total meat sales: 0.34 percent.
Segment by segment sales:
Fruits and vegetables – $8.5 billion, up 6 percent from 2007
Dairy – $3.6 billion, up 13 percent
Non-dairy beverages – $3.2 billion, up 32 percent
Packaged-prepared foods – $2.9 billion, up 21 percent
Breads and grains – $2.7 billion, up 35 percent
Snack foods – $1.1 billion, up 11 percent
Sauces/condiments – $491 million, up 23 percent
Meat/fish – $448 million, up 12 percent
Add in sales of non-food items, including clothing, supplements and personal care products, and the total organic market grew to $24.6 billion last year, a 17.1 percent increase over 2007.
