With organic sales of 3,278 million Swiss francs, two percent less organic food was sold in the Swiss retail trade in 2022 compared to the previous year. This decline is explained by the return of consumers to the consumption behavior they maintained before the pandemic. In a multi-year view, organic food demand in the retail trade shows stable growth. This can be seen, on the one hand, in the 480 million Swiss francs higher organic sales in 2022 compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019 and, on the other hand, in the further increasing sales share of organic products in the overall food market.
The proportion of consumers consuming organic products on a daily basis also continued to increase - from 17 percent in 2020 to 19 percent in 2022, as the results of the Organic Barometer show. The biggest barrier to buying organic food is the extra cost.
Organic celery sees strong price drop
In January, the retail price of organic celery fell 39 percent, from CHF 7.50 to CHF 4.58/kg compared to the previous month. This is probably due to the fact that the Swiss season has come to an end and the phase with high tariffs since mid-December has come to an end. The magnitude of the price drop is remarkable: in the observation period since 2014, the decline compared to the previous month has never been so high. Conventional celery also recorded a high price drop this January compared to December 2022 (-34%).
Clementines and mandarins: winners in the organic citrus segment
In January, 533 tons of organic clementines and mandarins were sold in the Swiss retail sector, which is 44% more than in the same month last year (369 tons). Compared with the average of the previous five years, sales were up by as much as 78 percent. In contrast, other organic citrus fruits developed, in some cases significantly weaker. Compared with the same month of the previous year, organic oranges sold at 654 tonnes, down by around 18 percent, and organic lemons at 447 tonnes, down by 22 percent. Organic grapefruits/pomelos had an increase in sales volume, but at a low level ( + 5% to about 40 tons).
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