September 5, 2006

Sales of organic produce up 30 percent in year

Sales of organic produce in the UK have jumped 30 percent this year and are now worth GBP1.6 billion (US$3 billion) annually.

Supermarkets have expanded their range of organic food rapidly in the last year and report dramatic growth in demand. Supermarkets accounted for three-quarters of the total market for organic produce in 2005.

High-end supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and Waitrose were earliest to exploit demand but growth has filtered down to other supermarkets. Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose all say they have seen growth in organic sales of around 20 percent on-year.