Organic food's market share stagnating; Organic farming land slowly increasing

The turnover for organic food increased significantly in the past two years, but its market share seems to be stagnating. More Dutch farmers are also going organic, but they’re embracing the shift much more slowly than the government had hoped.

According to a biennial study by market researcher GfK, the turnover for organic products increased by 42 percent compared to 2021, NOS reports. Inflation played a big role in that, but consumers are also opting for organic food more often. Organic food still only holds 3.8 percent of the market share, however. That is only a fraction more than in 2021 and far below the government’s 15 percent goal for 2030.

According to Michiel Wilde of the trade organization Bionext, organic food is gaining ground. Supermarkets are implementing initiatives, like Plus now only selling organic whole milk and organic onions. And there will be a major advertising campaign later this year to entice consumers to buy organic more often, he told NOS.

“But what we need is for large parties to switch to organic,” De Wilde said. “For example, you would need NS to only use organic milk for its cappuccinos at all stations. Or if Friesland Campina would only offer a certain type of cheese organically. Canning brand Hak recently determined that all its products will be organic from 2027. That makes a difference.”

About 9,000 football fields worth of Dutch agricultural land was organically certified in 2023, an increase of 6.6 percent compared to a year earlier, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported on Wednesday. The organic area now covers 80.9 thousand hectares or 4.5 percent of the total agricultural land.

Farmers are embracing organic farming much more slowly than the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality had hoped. The Ministry is aiming for 15 percent organic farming in 2030. To achieve that target, the Netherlands needs to add 26,000 hectares of organic agricultural land per year until 2030.

Last year’s increase covered almost 12,000 hectares - 6,500 hectares from existing companies going organic and 5,400 from new organic agriculture companies. But 5,300 hectares of organic farming land were also lost to companies closing or certificates expiring.