ABSTRACT
Across Europe, the organic share of the total food market varies from approximately 4.5 percent of total food sales in Switzerland and Denmark, to 3 percent in Germany and approximately 2.5 percent in the UK. In several major European countries, the market for organic food grew substantially between 2005 and 2006, with a growth rate of more than 20 percent in the UK, 18 percent in Germany, 10 percent in Austria and 9 percent in the Netherlands. This trend is expected to have continued in 2007. In countries like Denmark and Switzerland that had experienced stagnation in previous years, the market appears to have entered a renewed stage of growth (Rippin et al. 2007). The rapid growth in demand for organic produce has resulted in supply shortages. In Germany, widespread scarcity of cereals, potatoes, milk, meat and some vegetables varieties led to discernible price increases at both the producer and consumer level. Austria experienced extreme shortages in cereals, potatoes, some fruits and vegetables; even though organic farmland already accounts for 13 percent of the total farmland. Approximately, an additional 10′000 farms would be needed to meet demand. In 2006, Denmark suffered from milk oversupply, but it now is looking for new organic milk producers. In the UK, some companies try to convince farmers to convert to organic by offering financial assistance.
