Organics in NZ - supermarkets dominate
years and are likely to do so again in the next few years
Organic food sales in New Zealand have doubled over the past two years and are likely to do so again in the next few years, according to researchers at the University of Otago, New Zealand.
A story in the New Zealand Herald claims that supermarkets rather than specialist retailers are enjoying the lion's share of the growth, according to the research presented last week at the Bio-Gro annual conference in Palmerston North.
Hugh Campbell of Otago University's Centre for the Study of Agriculture, Food and Environment was quoted as saying at the conference that extrapolation of a survey of organic retailers in Dunedin suggested sales of organic food on the national retail market rose from NZ$32.5 million (€33.07m) a year two years ago, to NZ$71 million in the year to March this year.
Dr Campbell said the research indicated New Zealand was "likely to head towards a domestic organic market of NZ$150 million in the next few years".
The survey showed a 'significant shift in the balance between supermarket and specialist retailing of organic produce', with supermarkets soaring from 27 per cent to 57 per cent of market share since 2000.
"At the same time as the market was growing massively, traditional organic retailers experienced little growth in their volume of organic products and declined drastically in relative market share, falling from 57 per cent to 22 per cent," Dr Campbell said.
This dramatic shift in the balance of retailing between specialist shops and supermarkets reflected broad trends in many European Union countries, he added.
