Due to inflation, the prices of organic products have increased by 4% between 2021 and 2022, which is less than for food in general. This is one of the conclusions of the Organic Agency which makes its “2022 organic panorama” on Thursday.
Organic represents 6% of the French food shopping basket in 2022, a figure down slightly compared to 2021 (6.44%). This is detailed in the “bio panorama 2022” of the Agence bio that franceinfo reveals Thursday, June 1. That’s as much as the Americans. By way of comparison, organic represents 13% of food purchases in Denmark, and 11% in Austria.
>> Drop in sales, wary consumers, weakened producers… Is the organic market running out of steam?
The fall on the part of organic is less severe than the Agency envisaged. The organic products sector was less affected by inflation than the food sector as a whole. Organic prices increased by 4% when food in general rose by 6.7%. This weaker price increase can be explained. For the first time in 2022, the price of organic wheat was cheaper than conventional wheat.
However, some opportunities are on the rise
“The decline is not global”, relativizes Thursday on franceinfo Laure Verdeau, director of the Agence Bio. “Of all the organic sales outlets three are down, supermarkets, organic stores and artisans, but on the other hand, there are three that are up, with the strongest being that of organic sold at the farm”. She recalls that the short-circuit “It weighs 1 to 2% of French food purchases, but in organic, it’s 13% of the market“.
To increase the share of organic on the plate of the French, whether at home or outside, it is necessary in particular to work on supply rather than demand, pleads the Organic Agency. She points out that last year France became the leading country in the European Union in terms of areas cultivated organically, ahead of Spain and Italy. But France is 13th for its share of land cultivated organically. In 2022, French organic farming represents 10.7% of agricultural land, compared to 10.44% in 2021. Faced with the drop in demand for organic products, land in the first year of conversion is down 41%. The public interest group considers it imperative to stimulate demand in order to achieve the national objective of 18% of organic surfaces.
More than 80% of organic vegetables consumed in France are grown here
Another lesson from this panorama: the vast majority of organic products consumed in France (83%) are produced in France, excluding tropical products. This concerns eggs, milk and dairy products, wine, fresh and processed meats, fresh bread, vegetables and the majority of delicatessen and frozen products. Organic vegetables are even grown in France at more than 80%. Including tropical products, the share of organic “made in France” still remains at 70%.
>> Despite the Egalim law, the 20% organic content in canteens has not been reached: “There is a territorial inequality of citizens and canteens vis-à-vis organic”
Finally, the Agence bio estimates that the Egalim law, a law for the balance of commercial relations in the agricultural sector and healthy and sustainable food, has had an effect on canteens with an increase in the share of organic in collective catering. . Organic food represents 7% of collective catering purchases. A figure up one point over one year. Agence bio, French agency for the development and promotion of organic farming, is a public interest group for the promotion of organic farming in France created in 2021. It brings together representatives of several ministries as well as professionals .