Sagging Organic Food Sales

We've been hearing for awhile now that with the slowing economy, sales of organic foods and beverages are dropping.  The same thing is happening in the UK.  

...the British love affair with organics has stalled in the face of rising prices and tightening budgets as mortgage and fuel bills bite and fears rise over job losses.

The market research company TNS keeps track of the shopping habits of 25,000 households and has watched organic sales rise tenfold in the last 10 years to more than £1.3bn a year, though this still accounts for only a few percent of total food and drink sales. But the latest figures show the biggest and most consistent fall in organic food and drink sales for a decade--by nearly a fifth from their all-time peak in February.

Here's a pair of graphs from a companion article that show how organic purchases are dropping.  For unknown reasons, organic eggs have suffered the greatest decline.

Some advocates there are stridently proclaiming that organic food isn't a fad (example here) or a lifestyle choice.  They don't want people having second thoughts about spending more for products that are supposedly healthier, more ethical, etc.  Consumers there are showing that as money gets tighter, they're more likely to cut organic foods before free-range products. 

Reasons for the decline vary widely: a poor summer for barbecuing; falling public confidence in the benefits of paying extra for organic produce; and even concerns that more land and labour-intensive organic production is exacerbating the recent surge in food prices. The single greatest issue cited by farmers and retailers alike, however, is the credit crunch. Organic food is just one of many examples of customers trading down.

With all the hype surrounding organic foods, little wonder a number of people are struggling to see and believe the substance.

Comments

[Palm Springs sAVANT]

As consumers adjust to the increasng costs of consumer goods, this segment will soften during an adjustment period. But long term, organic as a segment will continue to grow its share of the industry. I just blogged about it today to remind consumers about the benefits.

http://rickrockhill.blogspot.com/2008/09/another-excuse-for-me-to-crow-about.html

[ray]

There are no benefits to organic food it is a lie and a con. There are no meaningful differences in nutritional content between non OF and OF. Also pesticide residues on food are not harmful to health. The UK's Food Standards Agency packed full of biologists think the same. I am a biologist with a PhD.