According to TNS Worldpanel data seen by the Financial Times that sales of organic produce in Sainsbury’s and Tesco fell by 3.8 percent and 1.3 percent respectively in the three months to August 10. The Sales of organic goods in supermarkets are struggling and suggesting that shoppers are ready to sacrifice their green credentials in favor of cheaper food.
According to the most recent data, spending on organic produce in the whole market has fallen by 19 percent this year from £100m to £81m. Asda and Morrisons fared better with 3.1 percent and 24.6 percent growth, although their cheaper end of the grocery market in coming from a lower base. Figures demonstrate the way in which consumers are swapping their allegiances as they seek cheaper prices.
Marketing manager for organics at Sainsbury, Sophie Firth, said conceded sales were “flat and have started to dip off” and this was a symptom of the time. She also said “people are still buying core items but I guess few people are buying into organics as a whole.”
Organic agriculture is inherently more expensive than intensive agriculture and there is evidence consumers are not willing to pay the extra cost. Among the hardest hit have been sales of organic eggs which fell 18 per cent in the four weeks to the end of August.

The University of Guelph is officially opened the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming and students of all ages will learn about local organic food production and resource conservation. President Alastair Summerlee said during a grand opening celebration “it’s all about preparing younger generations for a different kind of future.” The opening celebration is attended by Guelph mayor Karen Farbridge and Robert Gordon, the new dean of the Ontario Agricultural College.
Summerlee said “this innovative centre will provide practical experiential learning opportunities for our students which in the long run will help bring about changes and improvement to our food system.” The farm is located on a one hectare at the northwest corner of the Arboretum, this will also serve as a community networking center. The three non-governmental agencies like the Canadian Organic Growers, the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario and FarmStart have been involved in both the planning and initial planting.
Prof. Ann Clark of the Department of Plant Agriculture said “We are not simply operating a market garden but also preparing society for greater self-sufficiency in healthy and nutritious food with less dependence on fossil fuel energy and scarce water resource.” The knowledge student’s gain will be both practical and useful.
A commercial organic market gardener Martha Gay Scroggins will coordinate the center. She will oversee teaching and practical learning opportunities as part of University of Guelph’s major in organic agriculture. Clark and Prof. Paul Voroney of the Department of Land Resource Science introduced the organic major in 2002. It was the first program of its kind in North America and it is still the only academic organic major offered in Canada.

Ong Kung Wai the renowned national organic consultant, felt that the abundance of fertile land and coupled with the hot and humid weather all year round would ensure the success of organic farming in the state. Farmers and livestock breeder must be brave to venture into organic farming in view of the good market potential locally and globally.
Ong Kung Wai said “if you are a good organic farmer to begin with, the switch over will be quicker and you can match productivity as can be seen in the Cameron Highlands where the farmers are making good money.”
Ong also said organic farming was more on intensive farming technology where the farmers needed to know a little bit more about the soil, weather, insect pests, dynamics and nutrient science. Ong is a board member of International Federation of Organic Movement or IFOAM and chairperson of Organic Alliance Movement or OAM. He said the awareness on using organic products was on the increase among Malaysians who insisted on eating food free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
He said “this can be seen in Peninsular Malaysia especially in the bigger towns and cities where many supermarkets allocate spaces for organic products and the market for them is quite good.” He advised the consumers to check the origin and quality of the products to avoid buying fake products.
The four principles of organic farming were health, ecology, fairness and care. The benefits of organic farming were improved crop and animal health and better nature resource management, lower use of non-renewable resources, safer food and safer working environment.

New Hope Natural Media and a division of Penton Media Inc. announced the sixth annual Natural Products Expo Asia and set new attendance and exhibition records. The 2008 tradeshow and conference was held in June at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. The event showcased more than 10,000 natural, organic and eco-products in the industry’s largest event in Asia.
Exhibitors came from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan Korea, Canada, U.S. Japan, Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Philippines, New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka. The floor space also expanded and reflecting a growing range of product offerings including natural and organic food and beverages.
The top ten attendee countries were Korea, Taiwan, Mainland China, Philippines, Malaysia, U.S., Thailand, Japan, Singapore and Australia. The event received U.S. Department of Commerce certification and as well as support from the Organic Food Development Centre Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nippon Pharmacy Association, Korea Health Supplement Association and Austrade. The seventh annual Natural Products Expo Asia will be held next June 25-27, 2009 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.
Penton Media, Inc. is the largest independent business-to-business media company in the U.S. and serving more than six million business professionals every month. The company’s market-leading brands are focused on 30 industries and include 113 trade magazines, 145 Web sites, 150 industry trade shows and conferences and more than 500 information data products.

Wal-Mart and Fred Meyer which owns Kroger are among the big names that carry certified organic versions of shopping cart staples from meat, milk, cookies and crackers and everything in between. Organic food once was the domain of specialty grocery stores but big chains are getting into organic in a big way.
Donna Eggers a spokeswoman for Albertsons which operates stores in much of the West Coast said supermarkets now account for more than 60 percent of the organic food market. Fred Meyer spokeswoman said “People are trying to eat healthier, or watching what they feed their family. It’s a huge growth area for us.” Despite recent setbacks tied to the economy. Spokeswoman also said “It’s becoming a mainstream.”
Whole Foods has seen its income and stock value plummet this year U.S. organic food sales are projected to reach an all-time high of $23 billion in 2008 and continue increasing 18 percent a year through 2010 according to the Organic Trade Association.
Prices for organic items can be double or more for conventional brands. As the organic food market continues to grow, stores and manufacturers are starting to court shoppers with more affordable price. Organics products are still a hard to sell, especially in a stagnant economy where people are responding to rising gas and food prices.
Fred Meyer and Albertsons sell organic under their own store brands and the prices are generally 10 cents to $1 higher. Though instances are rare, organic products are sometimes the same price or even less than non-organic products.

Tracey Smith the founder of International Downshifting Week and author of The Book of Rubbish Ideas is licking her lips in anticipation of this year’s Organic Food Festival in Bristol this coming September 6 – 7 September. This is set in Bristol’s famous harbor side it is Europe’s largest celebration of all things organic, incorporating bustling food markets, very best organic food, drink, fashion, skincare and home ware products, the green planet pavilion, a talks program, a kitchen demonstration, food cruises around the harbor and an arts and entertainment.
Neal’s Yard Remedies have their dedicated skincare marquee with an area set aside to offer visitors a mini vitality MOT. This year Neal’s Yard Remedies will be hosting a special talks and workshop area on their stand, there will be practical talks on anti-aging through to the natural approach for mothers and babies.
With Organix sponsoring the Children’s Zone and such delights as the Food for Life Cookery Bus and the Whole Earth Food Trail. Wander into the fashion and textile marquee and see how a sheep’s fleece is turned into a garment. Cornish Organic Wool is supplying organic fleece from Bosigran Farm, Zennor as recent winner at The Royal Cornwall Show in the fleece competition which will be carded, spun and knitted by Spinning Weal from Clevedon.

Evidence show that the organic market has suffered its sharpest fall and UK’s biggest grocers will try to reinvigorate sales of organic food. According to TNS a market research firm organic eggs sales tumbled to 18 percent in the four weeks to 10, customers opted for cheaper, low cost free range products. Big UK grocer admitted that sales of organic food were flat.
Supermarket chains including the Co-operative Group, Asda, Sainsbury and Waitrose will release a series of promotions during the Soil Association’s Organic Fortnight, this runs for two weeks from 6th of September. These chains will also focus on promoting basic brands as evidence emerges that consumers are now favoring cheaper, low cost produce.
Asda will release promotions in many categories, including price rollbacks on everyday items and food sampling across 250 stores. The chain claims to have avoided a fall in organic sales. Waitrose had seen a change in the type of organic products being bought “Value conscious customers are focusing their organic spend on areas they feel are the most important. This dovetails with increasing concerns about animal welfare,” a spokeswoman said. Waitrose is also introducing promotions for Organic Fortnight.
The organic food home delivery specialist, managing director of Abel & Cole Duncan Gibson, admitted the market was slowing but said the internet retailer was still growing sales strongly. The firm runs a 20 percent price promotion on most lines from middle September and on track to grow total sales by 25 percent this year. The Co-op’s price promotion is cutting 20 percent on organic produce.