THE SALE of organic food in Ireland has increased by 82 per cent in the last two years and is now worth €104 million, Bord Bia's national organic conference in Waterford heard yesterday.
New research presented at the Maximising Ireland's Potential conference heard that in the year to July 2006, the organic market was worth €57 million but has grown dramatically since then.
Research also showed that 45 per cent of Irish grocery shoppers bought an organic product in the last month, indicating a 20 per cent increase over 2003 figures.
Bord Bia official Lorcan Bourke, who is chairman of the Organic Market Development Group, said latest research indicated the changes in consumer attitudes to organic food and ethical shopping.
"The research showed 'organic' has the greatest recognition of all ethical food labels, with 91 per cent of those surveyed stating they are familiar with the term, compared to 50 per cent who are familiar with the term 'food miles'," he said.
Food miles refer to the distance a food item travels from the farm to a consumer's home. "The research also highlighted bread, beef, preserves and cheese as some of the organic produce most likely to increase in popularity over the coming years," he added.
Bord Bia chief executive Aidan Cotter said: "The record growth in the market is striking and mirrors corresponding increases throughout other European markets. The opportunity for Irish suppliers is even further highlighted by the finding that 'local organic' provides a particularly powerful cue to increase buyer interest," he said.
The conference, organised by Bord Bia in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, addressed scenarios for the future of the Irish organic sector.
Keynote speakers, including Carlo Petrini, president and founder of Slow Food International, provided practical advice on emerging market trends and expert industry guidance to enable Irish companies to identify and develop export opportunities.
Caroline Burgess, emerging markets category manager, Asda, the second biggest retailer in the UK with a 16 per cent share of the market and a turnover of €16 billion, said the supermarket group had more than doubled its range of organic products.
The conference, attended by more than 250 delegates and guests including Michelle Gildernew, the Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture, was told of plans to convert 5 per cent of the Republic's total acreage to organic production by 2012.
Tony Reid, assistant principal officer, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, outlined the plan being put in place to achieve this. Organic farming and production levels here are well below those of the EU, with only 1,410 registered organic operators in Ireland, 1,195 of whom are growers.
Although statistics indicated that the number of registered organic farms rose from 238 in 1993 to almost 900 in 2004, there was still a lot of room and opportunity for the sector to grow, he said.