Milking growing demand for organic

Published on Monday 13 April 2009 19:29

THE credit crunch is hitting organic farmers in the pocket, with sales on the slide.

However, sales of organically produced milk are bucking the trend, notching up an increase of 9 per cent in the past year.

Stuart Martin, marketing manager at the Scottish Organic Milk Producers' Association, said: "Organic produce is perceived by consumers to be an expensive premium brand so, in times of recession, sales can suffer.

"But the price differential between conventional milk and organic is the lowest it has been for a decade and consumers are clearly taking advantage of that. While the conventional milk price (at retail level] has risen by 14 per cent over the last year, organic milk has only increased by 5 per cent."

The organic dairy sector claims to be one of the fastest growing parts of the supply network. Sales of organic milk have increased, albeit from a low level, by 18 per cent in the past two years. All the major supermarkets are currently using their own brand labels.

Milk that is produced organically is alleged to contain beneficial nutrients and fewer additives, antibiotics, artificial hormones and chemical residues than its standard counterpart. Dutch scientists also suggest that drinking organic milk resulted in 36 per cent fewer cases of eczema in young people.