Organic Foods Are Booming in Great Britain

BRITAIN'S ORGANICS MARKET IS HEALTHY AND GROWING
November 8, 1999
CNN Interactive
>From Financial Correspondent Todd Benjamin
http://cnn.com:80/FOOD/news/9911/08/organic.foods/index.html
LONDON -- Organic farming has become one of the fastest growing
agricultural sectors in Britain, where one in three shoppers has purchased
organic foods. Despite high consumer prices, the demand for organic
produce and livestock has increased by 40 percent a year. And the upward
trend should continue, agricultural experts say, in large part due to
recent food safety scares stampeding across England and the rest of
Europe. Organic farmers relying on natural processes and nutrients have
higher costs than those using the chemical insecticides and petrol-based
fertilizers of conventional agriculture. But some of the former are doing
well financially, said a representative of the Soil Association at an
organic foods conference in London last week. "The pioneering companies
that developed the marketQthe successful onesQare now making a lot of
money," Patrick Holden said. "We are now seeing the second tier of
companies that are currently marketing conventional foods realizing that
they've got to get involved." Some stores expect organic produce will make
up 20 percent of all fruits and vegetables sales in Britain next year.
Food retailers say they have been surprised to witness that young adults
will pay more for organics. At one supermarket, for example, 50 percent of
all baby food sales is organic. "Organic is such a strong brand. And
basically in the UK (United Kingdom) there has always been a premium on
brands and that is how the organics will go as well," said MD Foods'
Laurent Ponty. Prices will drop as farmers grow more organic produce, but
never to the level of non-organic produce, agribusiness representatives
say. Organic farmers, for their part, say a lack of long-term incentives
prevents conventional farmers from joining their ranks. The British
government contends its first priority for organics is making uniform
safety standards. "If it isn't properly regulated, if people do make false
claims, if we find that the market is undermined, it will be very damaging
to consumer confidence in the organic sector generally," said Elliot
Morley, a UK government minister. The challenge is considerable,
particularly since Britain already imports 70 percent of its organic food.