Germany: Organic farming on the rise
In 2013, 6.4 % of the German agricultural land was organically farmed, marking a 2 % increase over the previous year.
In total, 1,060,669 hectares were farmed organically in Germany in 2013. The number of agricultural enterprises following organic procedures in 2013 did not undergo significant changes (+0.2 % compared to 2012).
In terms of organically produced food, Germany is Europe’s leading market. Organic products worth 7.55 billion Euros were sold in Germany in 2013, which is 7 % more than in the previous year.
Imports of organic products are important for Germany, since the high demand cannot be met by the domestic production alone: experts suggest that imports amount to 30 to 50 % of the organic market.
In order to improve the framework for organic farmers and their trading partners, the Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL) supports the entire value chain: from production over sales and processing to marketing.
Source: Press release of the Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture