More people opting for organic food at home

People in France are buying more and more organic produce and a survey has found that nine out of 10 people ate organic foods last year.

The rise in interest saw the bio market grow by 22% in 2016 to €7billion with 69% of people telling the Agence Bio/CSA study that they regularly bought organic.

Florent Guhl, head of Agence Bio promotion group, said: “Organic is growing in scale but is managing to keep its fundamental values.”

He said the 50% of the people who bought organic were changing their way of eating and watching what they ate with 65% opting for seasonal products, 61% opting for fresh products and 58% aiming to cut food waste.

The strong market growth has come with the arrival of new specialist shops which account for 25% of the growth and make up 35% of the sector. That does not mean leading supermarkets are being left behind as they are offering their own ranges on specialist shelves and make up 45% of the market.

One area that the organic movement needs to improve upon, however, is in increasing the amount of bio product grown in France as 24% of that sold is imported, although Mr Guhl said that this was mainly for processed products.

The Connexion will be running an article on organic foods in our July issue – where we look at the costs and possible benefits. Do you think organic food is better for you? Let us know at news@connexionfrance.com