US organic food sales surge 7.7% (while conventional foods manage just 1% growth)

Organic food sales now account for four percent of total food sales in the US, added OTA chief executive Christine Bushway.

"Consumers continue to vote with their dollars in favor of the organic choice. These results illustrate the positive contribution organic agriculture and trade make to our economy, and particularly to rural livelihoods. The good news is that even as the economic recovery crawls forward, the organic industry is thriving, and hiring.”

Recruitment levels reflect growing confidence

Four out of 10 organic companies surveyed by the OTA said they had taken on more full-time staff in 2010, while almost half (46 percent) expected to hire more staff in 2011 than in 2010.

The top performers were fruits and vegetables (39.7 percent of total organic food value, and nearly 12 percent of all US fruit and vegetable sales), which notched up an 11.8 percent rise in sales to nearly $10.6bn in 2010. Organic dairy posted nine percent growth to $3.9bn, and now accounts for almost six percent of the total US market for dairy products, revealed the OTA.