Reflections on the future of the organic sector in Spain

There is no doubt that there is a growing concern for the environment, so it is easier to find people who seek to lead a healthy life in which food is well cared for.

These statements could give us an indication that the market for organic products is becoming increasingly important, which is confirmed by data and statistics that speak of the industry.

Sector Overview

Among other data, we know that within the sector Food and Beverages, the consumption of the organic industry in 2002 represented 0.5% of total consumption in Spain, reaching a 2% today. In 2005 the average expenditure per person in organic food was approximately 6 euros in Spain. This, applied to the total population recorded in the census of 2005 valued the Spanish market of organic products for human consumption at over 264 million euros, use a figure that according to some industry sources close to the 300 million.

By analyzing these data we must keep in mind that although Spain still does not reach the growth rates given in the green markets of the rest of Europe, several reliable sources, such as the "European Market for Organic Products", define the ecological Spanish as an “emerging” sector in a few years will significantly increase its market of share of Spanish food.

Likewise, we refer to estimates and future forecasts, which bode very well for the market for organic products in Spain. The first is that it could reach 1200 million per year, four times its current size. The second estimate provides a possible six-fold increase in spending per person in Spain on the rate of organic food and drink in the coming years.

Regard to the European market between 2004 and 2005 experienced a growth of 14%, reaching a volume of 14,000 million euros at present, and being France, Germany or Italy countries consuming more organic food.

These figures represent the potential to have organic products for businesses, while still very well be approaching its sales strategy in Spain, already have a real opportunity for growth through exports to European countries closer.

Evolution sector

In the early years of developing organic had to be a lot of transition in the methods of cultivation, processing of products, etc., forced into action by regulators in the agriculture and organic food, trying to remain competitive with conventional products.

For the adventurous farmer

Replacing their traditional crops by organic meant great changes and great uncertainty about the actual demand for these products. Manufacturers, meanwhile, had trouble finding distributors of raw materials necessary to comply with the certificate of "green."

Moreover, it was easy to find companies that were launched to develop organic and disappeared shortly, something that could not promote a stable consumption habits.

However at present there is no such difficulty. Organic agriculture is now a gap in the Spanish agricultural sector. The number of operators has increased six fold since the nineties to 2006, and the cultivated area of footprint has grown from 4,000 hectares in 1991 to almost 1 million hectares in 2006.

As for processors and distributors, there are currently no such supply problems. In 1991 there were in Spain with 50 processors and marketers of organic products, compared with 1942, 2006.

On the consumer side, the controls and legislation exists at State level and at European level that ensures full consumer consumes organic products in perfect condition.

Future

Some of the barriers that organic products are to put a dent in pantries Spanish are the ignorance that sometimes takes on this type of product, which often is confused with the dietary product. But this barrier will be increasingly marginalized by the large number of actions being undertaken to make these products, and to show how a product in our daily diet. Consider the "Multi-Year Campaign promotional and information on organic farming in Spain" that presented the MAP in 2006 to encourage the consumption of organic products.

This growth, shown earlier in figures, supports that consumers and potential consumers of organic products are increasing day by day, causing an increase in supply. This makes the green product is increasingly in supermarkets.

Few years ago, these products were targeted at a specific segment, that of the "environmentalists", who found the organic product in specialty stores for "Natural Food", along with dietary and medicinal food.

Later began to include sections in supermarkets specific ecological Articles , i.e., aisles with shelves devoted to these products, labeled and marked accordingly.

Presumably, the growth of production and consumption figures shown above, and forecasts that, sooner or later will be met, will change the value of organic products. It would be foolhardy to say that I will not be a linear which combines a supermarket, but in each of the line will be organic products of different brands and different features, mixed with other food being taken as "normal" .

Irene Otamendi Legorburu
Strategy and Business Management
www.esyges.com

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