The characteristics of the retail markets for organic products

Gyarmati, Gábor

Keywords: organic farming, markets for organic products, characteristics of consumers, organic markets of the world

Despite the slight boom in the 90’s in Western Europe the market for organic products forms a narrow segment in the foods market. The growth ratio decreased recently and even stalled on some markets, where these reached the limits of their possibilities. The consumers of organic products consist of committed consumers, health conscious luxury consumers, and those subject to an enforced diet due to health problems (Gerson diet or Breuss cure). The average ratio of the consumption of organic food is 0.1 % globally due to significant extra charges and narrow sales possibilities. This ratio was even smaller (0.05 %) in Hungary in recent years, as the extra charges were more than 100 % higher than in Western Europe. The largest consumer markets are North America and Western Europe where the consumption ratio of organic products can reach 2 %, while Europe, South America and Australia are the largest producers.