IFOAM Press Release
Nearly 31 Million Certified Organic Hectares Worldwide
IFOAM, FiBL and SÖL present new facts and figures about the organic sector at BioFach 2007
Bonn/Frick/Bad Duerkheim/Nuremberg, February 14th 2007 -? The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements? (IFOAM), the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and the Foundation for Ecology and Farming (SÖL) will present the latest statistics about organic agriculture worldwide at BioFach 2007. The results of this year’s study The World of Organic Agriculture: Statistics and Emerging Trends 2007, which was supported by the NürnbergMesse, will be presented at the world’s largest trade fair for organic products on Friday February 16th at 10:00 in room St. Petersberg.
The study shows that nearly 31 million hectares are currently certified according to organic standards. Australia continues to account for the largest certified organic surface area, with 11.8 million hectares, followed by Argentina (3.1 million hectares), China (2.3 million hectares) and the USA (1.6 million hectares). Germany is in the seventh position worldwide. The most significant portion of global organic surface area is in Oceania (39%), followed by Europe (23%) and Latin America (19%). In terms of the certified organic agriculture as a proportion of all arable agricultural surface area, the Alpine countries, such as Austria with more than 14%, top the statistics. Dr. Helga Willer und Minou Yussefi, who have headed up the study for the last eight years, emphasize that the growth exhibited in the USA (more than 400,000 hectares) and certain European countries (more than 110,000 hectares in Italy and 85,000 hectares in Poland)? has been the most noteworthy. In addition to the certified organic arable land, nearly 62 million hectares are currently certified to organic standards for the collection of wild product, according to research by the International Trade Center (ITC).
The global market for organic products reached a value of 25.5 billion Euros in 2005, with the vast majority of products being consumed in North America and Europe, according to the market research experts of Organic Monitor. For 2006, the value of global markets is estimated to be at more than 30 billion Euros. Healthy growth rates are expected to continue in the coming years. Angela B. Caudle, IFOAM Executive Director, suggests that the ever-growing demand for organic products offers attractive opportunities for producers – especially those in developing countries.
The World of Organic Agriculture: Statistics and Emerging Trends 2007 is being presented for the eighth consecutive year at BioFach 2007. In addition to chapters reviewing organic agriculture worldwide, numerous illustrations and graphs, and completely revised reports about the emerging trends and regional development highlights on each individual continent, the study includes a comprehensive annex with the entire data set and expanded coverage of commodity specific data.
Contacts
- Dr. Helga Willer, Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Ackerstr., CH-5070 Frick, Tel. +41 79 2180626, Fax +41 62 8657-273, E-Mail helga.willer@fibl.org, Internet www.fibl.org
- Minou Yussefi, Foundation for Ecology and Farming (SÖL), Weinstr. Süd 51, D-67098 Bad Dürkheim, Tel. +49 6322 98970-0, Fax +49 6322 98970-1, E-Mail info@soel.de, Internet www.soel.de
- Neil Sorensen, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Tel. +49 228 92650-16, E-Mail n.sorensen@ifoam.org, Internet www.ifoam.org
- NürnbergMesse, BioFach, Messezentrum Nürnberg, D – 90471 Nürnberg, Tel. +49 911 8606-4909, Fax+49 911 8606-4908, E-Mail info@biofach.de, Internet www.biofach.de
