Germans consumed almost a quarter more organic food last year and spent nearly 15 billion euros on organic products. Germany itself is a major producer of organic food, but according to Dutch agricultural experts, there is still sufficient market potential for imported Dutch organic food.
The share of organic farmland in Germany increased by 5% last year, with around 35,000 producers cultivating approximately 1.7 million hectares. Organic farming accounts for 10% of all German agriculture. In the Netherlands, organic farmland comprises nearly 4% of total farmland.
For Dutch producers, opportunities mainly lie in southern Germany, according to agricultural consultants from the Dutch embassy in Berlin. In the south, four of the top five largest organic supermarket chains—Alnatura, Dennree, Basic, and ebl-naturkost—can be found.
In 2020, Germans spent 22% more on organic food. The turnover of organic products grew twice as fast as the total food retail sector. On average, an individual in Germany spends 144 euros annually on organic products, nearly double the EU average.
Notably, sales growth in “other stores” was up 35% in 2020. This category includes health food stores, farm shops, online stores, and weekly markets. The COVID-19 pandemic brought much activity in this area. For example, turnover from organic vegetable subscriptions rose by nearly 50%.
Organic farming plays an important role within German food and agricultural policy. The EU’s Farm-to-Fork strategy, aiming for a 25% share of organic farming by 2030, is considered quite an ambitious target even for Germany.
In the current coalition agreement of CDU/CSU and SPD, it was decided to cultivate 20% of agricultural land organically by 2030. However, federal elections will take place later this year, and CDU and SPD are still debating the funding of a major agricultural reform. According to opinion polls, there is a high chance that the Greens (Die GrĂĽnen) will become part of the government this autumn.
What will be established in a new coalition agreement and how the Farm-to-Fork strategy will be implemented in Germany remains to be negotiated, but it will have to meet the EU F2F criteria in any case.