Australian Organic Industry - at a glance (from marco site)
Despite the ongoing drought, the organics category in Australia has performed above expectations.
Valued at AUD$300 million in 2004, up from AUD$280 million in 1995
Expected growth in 2005 of between 15% and 25% depending on the product.
Currently Australia has 12.5 million hectares of certified farming area under organic management. This represents 45% of the global farming land under organic management - making Australia in No. 1 in farming area under organic management.
| Country | Area under Organic Management (hectares) |
| 1. Australia | 12,500,000 (exc. Area under conversion) |
| 2. Argentina | 2,960,000 |
| 3. Italy | 1,168,212 |
| 4. USA | 950,000 |
| 5. Brazil | 841,769 |
Large organic consumer markets UK and Germany are ranked 7th & 8th, with 724,523 and 696,978 hectares respectively.
Australia is ranked 36th in the world in terms of numbers of organic farmers with over 2100 registered organic farming operations.
12.5 million hectares represents only 2% of Australia's available farming area and this does not include farming area undergoing organic conversion.
Projections for the Australian Organic Industry (BFA Vision 2020):
% of Total Primary Producers Certified Organic:
| 2004 | 1.5% |
| 2005 | 1.8% |
| 2010 | 4% |
| 2015 | 7% |
| 2020 | 10% |
Value of Certified Organic Products ( % of Australian Retail Dollar):
| 2004 | 0.2% |
| 2005 | 1% |
| 2010 | 3% |
| 2015 | 7% |
| 2020 | 10% |