Organic in Europe - Prospects and Developments

In 2016/2017 the European organic food and farming sector continued to excel both in terms of organic production and market growth as well as the latest developments in European Union (EU) food and farming policy. Data for 2016 shows the European organic food market recording significant growth – increasing by 11.4 percent (EU: 12.0 percent). At the same time, the organic sector faces a number of challenges, notably that the growth rates in organic production continue to lag behind the dynamic growth seen within the organic food market. In the public policy arena at the EU level, there are some opportunities for the organic sector to capitalise on the growing awareness and interest in tackling sustainability concerns in the agri-food sector amongst policymakers, but there are also challenges. These prospects and developments for organic in Europe are explored in this chapter.