Organic sales jumped in 2013
May 16, 2014 | 09:07 AM
Sales of organic products jumped to $35.1 billion in 2013, up 11.5 percent from the previous year’s $31.5 billion and the fastest growth rate in five years, according to the latest survey on the organic industry from the Organic Trade Association (OTA).
The OTA survey projects that growth rates over the next two years will keep pace with the 2013 clip and may slightly exceed it.
Laura Batcha
“The U.S. organic market is experiencing strong expansion, with organic food and farming continuing to gain in popularity,” said Laura Batcha, executive director and CEO of OTA.
“Consumers are making the correlation between what we eat and our health, and that knowledge is spurring heightened consumer interest in organic products.”
The organic industry survey was conducted by Nutrition Business Journal. More than 200 companies responded to the survey from January 27 through April 4. Companies gave data on revenues reported, sales growth, revenue by product and sales channel breakdowns.
Organic food sales in 2013, at $32.3 billion, accounted for roughly 92 percent of the total organic sales, the survey reported.
Non-food organic products — including flowers, fiber, household products and pet food — are “a very small part of the total organic market, but are making quick in-roads,” the report said. Sales of non-food organic products, at almost $2.8 billion, have increased nearly eight-fold since 2002, and have almost doubled in market share, according to the survey
Organics broke through the $30 billion mark in 2012 and now account for more than 4 percent of the $760 billion annual food sales in the United States. The growth rate of organic food sales, which has averaged almost 10 percent every year since 2010, has dwarfed the average annual growth of just over 3 percent in total food sales during that same period, OTA said.
A breakdown of the organic food sector by product shows that the fruit and vegetable category continues to lead the sector with $11.6 billion in sales, up 15 percent, the survey showed. With more than 10 percent of the fruits and vegetables sold in the United States now organic, the $1.5 billion in new sales of organic fruits and vegetable represented 46 percent of the organic sector’s $3.3 billion in new dollars.
The relatively small organic condiments category posted the strongest growth, at 17 percent, to reach sales of $830 million. Also showing double-digit growth were the organic snack food sector, up 15 percent to $1.7 billion; organic bread and grain sales up 12 percent to $3.8 billion; organic meat, poultry and fish sales up 11 percent to $675 million, and the rapidly expanding organic packaged and prepared food sector up 10 percent to $4.8 billion.
Just two categories of the organic food sector showed single-digit growth rates. The $4.9 billion dairy sector grew by 8 percent, and sales of organic beverages slowed to a 5 percent growth rate to around $4 billion.
But Batcha noted that noted that the industry is also facing challenges in the United States.
Farmland is not being converted to organic at the pace needed to meet the growing demand, she said. Supplies of organic feed and organic grain have been tight and costly, which could limit growth especially in the organic dairy and meat sectors she added.
Consumers are also confused by the presence of products labeled “natural” and the long debate about genetic modification.
“The entire organic industry needs to rally around helping consumers better understand and appreciate all the values that certified organic brings to the table,” said Batcha. “Consumer education is critical to grow the organic industry.”
The OTA survey projects that growth rates over the next two years will keep pace with the 2013 clip and may slightly exceed it.
“The U.S. organic market is experiencing strong expansion, with organic food and farming continuing to gain in popularity,” said Laura Batcha, executive director and CEO of OTA.
“Consumers are making the correlation between what we eat and our health, and that knowledge is spurring heightened consumer interest in organic products.”
The organic industry survey was conducted by Nutrition Business Journal. More than 200 companies responded to the survey from January 27 through April 4. Companies gave data on revenues reported, sales growth, revenue by product and sales channel breakdowns.
Organic food sales in 2013, at $32.3 billion, accounted for roughly 92 percent of the total organic sales, the survey reported.
Non-food organic products — including flowers, fiber, household products and pet food — are “a very small part of the total organic market, but are making quick in-roads,” the report said. Sales of non-food organic products, at almost $2.8 billion, have increased nearly eight-fold since 2002, and have almost doubled in market share, according to the survey
Organics broke through the $30 billion mark in 2012 and now account for more than 4 percent of the $760 billion annual food sales in the United States. The growth rate of organic food sales, which has averaged almost 10 percent every year since 2010, has dwarfed the average annual growth of just over 3 percent in total food sales during that same period, OTA said.
A breakdown of the organic food sector by product shows that the fruit and vegetable category continues to lead the sector with $11.6 billion in sales, up 15 percent, the survey showed. With more than 10 percent of the fruits and vegetables sold in the United States now organic, the $1.5 billion in new sales of organic fruits and vegetable represented 46 percent of the organic sector’s $3.3 billion in new dollars.
The relatively small organic condiments category posted the strongest growth, at 17 percent, to reach sales of $830 million. Also showing double-digit growth were the organic snack food sector, up 15 percent to $1.7 billion; organic bread and grain sales up 12 percent to $3.8 billion; organic meat, poultry and fish sales up 11 percent to $675 million, and the rapidly expanding organic packaged and prepared food sector up 10 percent to $4.8 billion.
Just two categories of the organic food sector showed single-digit growth rates. The $4.9 billion dairy sector grew by 8 percent, and sales of organic beverages slowed to a 5 percent growth rate to around $4 billion.
But Batcha noted that noted that the industry is also facing challenges in the United States.
Farmland is not being converted to organic at the pace needed to meet the growing demand, she said. Supplies of organic feed and organic grain have been tight and costly, which could limit growth especially in the organic dairy and meat sectors she added.
Consumers are also confused by the presence of products labeled “natural” and the long debate about genetic modification.
“The entire organic industry needs to rally around helping consumers better understand and appreciate all the values that certified organic brings to the table,” said Batcha. “Consumer education is critical to grow the organic industry.”
