Speaking at Food Ingredients Europe in London this week Amarjit Sahota, founder of Organic Monitor said that sales of organic food should reach $26bn this year and are forecast to reach $80bn in 2008.

Market revenues in Europe are expected to expand by 33 perecnt this year to reach $12bn and this is largely due to strong growth rates in the major markets: Germany, Italy, France and the UK.

The US market is also showing impressive growth with revenues forecast to hit $9.7bn as the introduction of formal national standards last year has given the sector a boost.

Land given over to organic production is on the increase world-wide with most of this likely to come from developing countries attracted to the sector because of its economic and sustainability benefits.

But there are challenges which must be addressed, said Sahota. 'Major challenges the industry faces are certification fragmentation, preventing fraudulent business practices, protection of the price premium and affirming the role of government during industry development.' Organic Monitor has already published research on the European vegetable market and is researching the fruit sector as well as organics in North America and Asia.

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