$600m organic industry starting to thrive in Australia

James Ferre

Australian Food News

November 17, 2008

Australian consumers are continuing to embrace organic produce, with three out of every five now buying organic products.

A Newspoll survey of 1000 Australian shoppers, commissioned by the Organic Federation of Australia (OFA), discovered that 61 per cent of Australians buy organic - up from 43 per cent in 2003 (according to a University of Central Queensland study). The rapid rise is not surprising given the growth of the industry over the past four years.

The Australian Organic Market Report, released in July this year, established that retail value (incorporating imports and adjusting for exports) was estimated above $0.5B for the first time. Retail value reached $578,000,000, with reports of between 10 and 30% growth per annum for some sectors since the last report in 2004.

The trend toward health and wellness and the desire of many consumers to become “green”, is likely to see continued success over coming years. The economic downturn may limit growth in the next year, however.

“The organic industry is emerging from a small niche to a significant part of the Australian food industry,” OFA Chairman, Andre Leu, noted in a statement.

“The Organic Federation of Australia would like to see industry and governments prioritise organic sector investments so that we can continue to facilitate more viable farms, increase employment and expand the range of organic goods and services across all areas of Australia,” Mr Leu said.

ausfoodnews.com.au

Climate right for organic food surge

Published by Streem -- Nov 17, 2008 10:18am AEST

With climate change, environmentalism and health on the minds of many Australians, organic food is very much in vogue.

A survey conducted by Newspoll has revealed that 61% Australian grocery buyers buy some organic products.

The poll was commissioned by the Organic Federation of Australia, the peak body for the organic sector and was conducted nationally among nearly 1,000 shoppers.

A previous survey, conducted in 2003 by the University of Central Queensland, showed that 43% of consumers purchased organic products.

"This is a 50% increase in buyers in 5 years and confirms the other data that ‘organic' is the fastest growing food category in the world." Andre Leu, Chairman of the Organic Federation of Australia said.

"The organic industry is emerging from a small niche to a significant part of the Australian food industry. A recent report showed that it is worth over $600 million."

The Federation said organic food and it's subsidiary industries could be worth up to $1 billion to the Australian economy.

"When we add flow on industries such as the compost industry that is worth over $400 million it is easy to see that the organic industry is worth over a billion dollars to the Australian economy,"

"The Organic Federation of Australia would like to see industry and governments prioritize organic sector investments so that we can continue to facilitate more viable farms, increase employment and expand the range of organic goods and services across all areas of Australia."

streem.com.au