The US organic industry grew by 9.5 percent overall in 2011 to reach $31.5 billion (€23.8bn) in sales, according to Organic Trade Association’s (OTA’s) 2012 Organic Industry Survey. Of this, the organic food and beverage sector was valued at $29.22 billion, while the organic non-food sector reached $2.2 billion, the association says. “The US organic sector continues to show steady and healthy growth, growing overall by 9.5 per cent during 2011, and, for the first time, surpassing the $30 billion mark,” Christine Bushway, OTA’s executive director and CEO notes. Organic dairy now represents six per cent of all milk sold in the US.

She adds, “Consumers are increasingly engaged and discerning when they shop, making decisions based on their values and awareness about health and environmental concerns. For them, it matters whether foods are genetically engineered, or produced using practices that are good for their families. Price is still an issue, but with the wide availability of private label products and many venues for organic products, they have many choices for where to shop and a variety of products from which to choose.”

Overall organic product sales growth of 9.5 per cent continued to outpace total sales of comparable conventionally produced food and non-food items, which experienced 4.7 per cent growth. Organic food sales experienced 9.4 per cent growth in 2011. The easing of the recession, consumer price inflation due to input price increases, and consumers’ increasing desire for convenience products were all factors that elevated growth for the year. Organic food sales now represent 4.2 per cent of all US food sales, up from four per cent in 2010. Prospects for 2012 and 2013, as indicated through the 2012 survey results, indicate that organic food and non-food sales will continue to sustain growth levels of nine per cent or higher.