By www.organic-market.info

At BioFach the Pavillon France “Made in France with Love” was once again one of the biggest foreign country participations with 104 companies in over 1200 sqm of exhibition space.

According to current information from Agence Bio, the French agency to promote the organic sector, the organically cultivated farmland in France increased more than initially expected. In 2015 it increased by almost 23% to roughly 1.4 million hectares, i.e. 5.1% of the total land used for agriculture.

For the year 2016, the agency is expecting this share to grow by another 8% and for 2017, a 20% growth rate is even expected. At the end of 2016, the organic cultivated land was already estimated at more than 1.5 million hectares then, which represented an increase of more than 20% in organic farmland compared to 2015.

Consumption of organic products is also growing fast

Also, the organic market in France has shown a very stable growth for many years. The total sales of the organic food industry is estimated at 5.76 billion euros in 2015. Purchases of organic food products for household consumption and food and beverage services increased by 15% to a total of € 704 million in 2015 compared with the previous year. This trend has intensified in 2016 and Agence Bio estimates that the market will reach nearly 6.9 billion euros (+ 20% compared to 2015).

The number of participants working in the organic food sector, from organic farmers to food processors and wholesalers, had grown too at end of June 2016:

• 31,880 producers, i.e., + 10% compared to the end of 2015.
• 14,300 operators (processors, distributors and importers), i.e., + 6% compared to the end of 2015.