Dutch organic farming continues to grow

Dutch organic farming has taken another step forward in the past year. The acreage grew by 4,1% to 69.349 hectares, while the number of certified organic farms increased by 5,6% to 2.076 farms. The number of transfer switches in 2019 was the lowest number in 4 years.

Bionext reports this on the basis of new figures from regulator Skal Biocontrole. Due to the steady growth, the organic share of the entire market has risen to 4,3%. The organic increase in the past year was mainly due to the trend of organic companies buying more land and growing larger. As a result, the organic acreage is increasing more than the number of certified companies, the organization reports.

Regionally, Flevoland will once again be the largest grower in 2019, with an increase in acreage of 8,2% to 11.348 hectares. With an increase of 755 hectares, Friesland was able to realize the largest growth in relative terms: 10%. This brings the Frisian biological surface to 8.314 hectares. In Zeeland, in particular, many new organically certified companies have been added. A growth of 41%. It is striking that the organic agricultural area in North Holland and Drenthe has decreased, Bionext notes.

According to Bionext, the Dutch market share is still below the European average. Austria leads the way with a 23,4% organic share of the entire market, followed by Estonia (19,6%) and Sweden (19,2%). Our neighboring countries are doing slightly better: Germany (6,8%), France (6%) and Belgium (6,2%). The Netherlands is lagging behind because the government does not pursue a stimulating policy, says Bionext.

Agricultural entrepreneurs are not encouraged by the Dutch government to do business organically and consumers are not encouraged to buy organically, Bionext believes. The organization hopes that the arrival of the Green Deal will change this. “As citizens we are becoming increasingly aware, as consumers we still choose with our wallets. It's our job to let consumers choose organic in the store as well. And we can really use the help from the European Commission for that," says Michaël Wilde, director of Bionext, in a statement.

Remarkably enough, no export figures are known for Dutch organic agriculture. CBS hopes to be able to present it next year.

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