U.S. organic product sales hit US$43.3B record in 2015
Organic product sales in the United States outstripped growth in the overall food market last year by eight percentage points to reach a record of US$43.3 billion.
In a summary of its '2016 Organic Industry Survey', the Organic Trade Association (OTA) said the sales represented an 11% rise, with the organic produce sector acting as a "gateway".
The OTA said organic produce retained its longstanding spot as the largest of all organic categories with sales of US$14.4 billion, representing a year-on-year rise of 10.6%.
The association said it was easy for shoppers to make the connection between agricultural practices used in the field and the fresh fruit or vegetables they bite into.
It reported almost 13% of the produce sold in the country was now organic.
The demand for fresh organic was most evident in the continued growth of "fresh juices and drinks," which saw explosive growth of 33.5% in 2015, making it the fastest-growing of all the organic subcategories.
The fastest-growing of the eight major organic categories was condiments, which crossed the US$1 billion mark in sales for the first time in 2015Â with18.5% growth.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also weighed in on the report.
"America's organic industry is booming, creating important opportunities for farmers and ranchers and adding to the vibrancy of rural America," Vilsack said.
"Under the Obama Administration, we've made transformative investments to help the organic sector thrive by making certification more attainable, providing more support for organic operations, and expanding international markets.
"As consumer demand continues to grow, USDA is here to support producers and help them access the hunger for American-grown organic products."
He said more than 21,900 organic operations had been certified as organic to date, representing an increase of 300% since 2002, while US$261 million had been invested over the past seven years to research and improve the productivity and success of organic agriculture, including seed breeding.
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