German consumers love organic products – but do German farmers gain profits in equal measure?

Development of organic food sales and land area

Growth rate of land area used for organic production

In 2014 German consumers spent about 8 billion Euro on organic products, turning Germany into the largest European market for food produced by organic farming. But domestic organic farming didn´t expand similarly. The new strategy “Organic Farming – Looking Forward” aims at a turnaround.

Since 2011, the consumption of organic products grew at a rate of 5 to 9 percent per annum, in comparison, the land area used for organic farming increased only between 1 and 3 percent during the last four years. Today, only 6.3 % of land area used for agriculture is managed according to the principles of organic farming. 

However, the slow emergence of organic farming is no surprise, as the average of conventionally producing farms have a higher profit than organic farms. According to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), in 2013/2014 conventional farms realized profits of 792 Euro per hectare, compared to organic farms earning only 651 Euro per hectare. This outcome differs significantly from results of an international study that shows organic farming being highly competitive to conventional production.

Accordingly, there are numerous starting points to enhance sector performance and to push growth in organic farming in Germany. To identify these key factors and to develop a coherent growth strategy the Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Christian Schmidt, launched the strategy “Organic Farming – Looking Forward” in May 2015. 

As a first step the BMEL assigned the Thuenen Institute to coordinate and implement the strategy´s development. Representatives of the organic farming sector and the agricultural industry as well as researchers of the relevant associations and science take part in this process. Results will be presented by the end of 2016.

More information:

Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture: Organic Farming - Looking Forwards

Thünen Institut: Zukunftsstrategie Ökologischer Landbau