News Biological agriculture
Can the Netherlands benefit from German organic boom?
The sale of organic products in Germany has grown by almost a quarter in 2020. The number of agricultural companies that have started farming organically has also grown significantly. The corona pandemic has resulted in increased demand for organic products. Can the Netherlands benefit from strong demand?
The Netherlands has traditionally been an important supplier of both conventional and organic products in Germany. This segment is now experiencing significant growth among our eastern neighbours. Of the total agricultural sector in the country, 10% is now organic. The EU's Farm-to-Fork strategy aims to have a quarter of the agricultural sector be organic by 2030. If the sector continues to grow at this rate, that target will be achieved.
A lot more organic farmland
German consumers bought €2020 billion worth of food in the corona year 15. That is an increase of 22% with 2019. Agricultural entrepreneurs in the country are also increasingly switching. The total organic agricultural area increased by 5% (85.000 hectares) and the number of organic farms has risen to 35.000. In 5 years, more than 8.000 new companies were added, while 12.000 companies closed in the same period. These figures are published by the German Organic Farmers Association BÖLW.
According to BÖLW, the total area of organic agricultural land in Germany is 1,7 million hectares. More than a million of these are certified by industry associations. The largest organic label – both in terms of participants and acreage – is Bioland. Naturland is in second place, followed by Biopark. The Demeter label has 1.740 participants and 93.000 hectares in Germany.
Grass and grain
The German statistical office Destatis estimates that the area of organic agricultural land is slightly larger at 2,16 million hectares. By far the largest part (32%) concerns permanent grassland. A quarter is agricultural land on which mainly cereals are grown. The area of organic potatoes last year was just under 10.000 hectares. Organic vegetable cultivation came to 15.000 hectares. Potatoes, vegetables and fruit are often bought organically. Eggs takes the cake with 44% exclusively organic.
It is precisely for these crops that there are opportunities and a lot of it goes to Germany. The largest supermarket chains and processing companies are located in the south of Germany, writes the Agricultural Council of Germany. Germans spend €144 per person per year on organic products. This is almost double the EU average. Recent research shows that especially women from families with an above-average income buy a lot of organic products in the supermarket. The main reasons for this are the strict animal welfare requirements and number 2 is the possible lower environmental impact. Local origin is number 3.
Rather local
The local character of organic consumption is increasingly an obstacle for the Netherlands. The numbers also show that. Germans mainly buy organic products in (organic) supermarkets. The other stores segment – such as country stores or web stores – grew by 2020% in 35.
Consumers are increasingly choosing to shop locally. Organic vegetable subscriptions also rose sharply. According to BÖLW, the supermarket was chosen less often, because shoppers want to avoid contact with people in connection with the corona pandemic. The choice for locally produced food is an obstacle for products with a Dutch obstacle. Germany may be the largest organic market in the EU, but consumers are critical and the bar is set high.
Niels van der Boom
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