Steady increase in purchase of organic food

organic food

Last year, Norwegians shopped organic food for almost NOK 2.9 billion. This is an increase of 8% from the previous year.

A report presented by the Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday showed that the turnover of organic dairy products, breads, baked goods and children’s food in particular increased sharply in grocery stores, while the turnover of fruit, berries, nuts and beverages decreased somewhat.

‘’Norwegians are increasingly spending money on organic food. It is a positive trend, and it provides opportunities for farmers who focus on organic production’’ said Minister of Agriculture and Food,
Olaug Bollestad of Kristelig Folkeparti (KrF).

Last year, the production of organic chickens increased by as much as 34%, while egg production increased by 12.5%.

The drought last summer is expected to halve the production of organic grain in the grain year 2018–2019.

The report also showed that the organic area of Norway’s agricultural crop had decreased from 4.4 per cent to 4.2 per cent. At the same time, the increase in the area undergoing conversion to organic use has increased by as much as 40%.

‘’The strong growth of land that will soon become organic is positive for Norwegian production of organic foods. If the trend continues, we will have larger ecological/organic space in the long term’’ said Bollestad.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today