increasing pressure on both the demand for available organic land, and the premium retail price differential between organic and conventional produce, is having a significant impact on the entire organic supply chain according to staff at RB Organic.
“Although we are enjoying growth in sales volume we are also embracing a number of significant challenges, across the entire supply chain, with one of the key issues being the availability of organic land, and land in conversion, to keep pace with increased volume demand” said RB Organic’s senior commercial manager, Catriona Mowbray.
RB Organic, a division of Produce World, specialises in growing and packing organic root vegetables.
This sector has seen continued market growth in excess of 15 per cent year-on-year.
“Sales are being driven by existing organic customers purchasing more frequently, indicating an increase in consumption among core consumers,” said Mowbray.
In season, RB Organic sources exclusively from its sites and contracted growers across the UK but it also imports produce from sites in Spain, Italy and France in order to maintain on-shelf availability for its customers.
Produce World’s organics and agronomy director, Andrew Burgess, said its sites are continuing to increase production volumes in line with market growth but imported prices for raw material are rising due to demand increases throughout Europe, and this in turn is putting pressure on supply prices.
“Because of the two-year conversion process, it is not that easy to just get more land, it is quite a worry for us at the moment,” Burgess told FPJ.
“This is an industry-wide problem which will be a big challenge for all of us,” managing director, Jason Burgess added.
“We are being supported by our customers, but as the premium gap closes between organic and conventional produce, the pressure on excellent agronomic practice increases on the grower; there is very little room for error and poor germination or crop write-off is a major concern,” he said.
Mowbray added that long-term planning should be a key focus for the industry. “It is critical that a sustainable future is available to growers who are prepared to invest in the future of organics,” she said.
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