News Organic
Organic agricultural area grows by 9.5%
The organic agricultural area in The Netherlands has grown by 9.5% in 2023 to 87,416 hectares. In 2023, there were 11.1% fewer hectares transitioning into organic compared to the previous year. This is stated in a trend report on developments in the organic sector by Bionext.
Last year, Bionext, a Dutch organisation for organic agricultural and food, reported an increase of 2.1% in 2022 and a share of organic land of 4.4%. The share of organic area is now 4.8%, excluding the companies transitioning into organic. Thus, the goal of 15% is far from being achieved.
The growth rate of organic land was highest in the province Gelderland in 2023 (+30.8%). North Brabant was the second largest riser (+16.9%). South Holland was the only province where the organic area shrank (-0.2%). Flevoland (+1.5%) still has by far the largest organic area (15.5%). North Holland and Drenthe follow at a distance with 5.9% and 5.4%.
The number of organic pig and dairy farms remained (approximately) the same. The number of organic goat farms further decreased, and for the first time, a decrease was seen in poultry farms and sheep farmers working organically.
The organic agricultural figures come from Skal Biocontrole, which oversees the organic quality mark. The general agricultural figures come from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Where Skal also published detailed figures on arable and horticulture in previous years, they have stopped doing so this year 'to prevent confusion'. 'Because the subsectors are not clearly defined, these figures often led to questions and confusion,' Bionext said in the trend report.
Throughout Europe, the organic area averages 3.7% of the agricultural area. In the EU countries, the average is 10.4%, with Austria leading at 25.5%. Estonia and Sweden are also at the forefront with 23.4% and 19.9%, respectively. There are a total of ten member states where the organic area exceeds 10%.
Organic turnover grows faster in supermarkets than inflation
The turnover of organic food in supermarkets grew by 14.5% in 2023, faster than food inflation (12.1%), according to data from Circana. It processes scanning data from all supermarkets except Aldi and Lidl, which together had a 16.3% market share in 2023. From €150 million to over €1.2 billion. The organic turnover of specialty stores (including butchers and health food stores) grew less rapidly by 6.9%.
Linda van Eekeres
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