The organic harvested area increased 14%, sustaining the positive trend of the last 10 years.

Organic production under certification in Argentina has maintained a positive trend in the last 10 years and among the most demanded products are yerba mate, honey, wine and olive oil, leading the sector.

Although the consumption of organic products in the domestic market has a low share of the total certified volume, the trend indicates an expansion.

An example of this is the growth of some foods such as flour or yerba mate. The Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Nation supports this sector of great potential through promotional actions.

“In 2021, organic yerba mate, along with other industrialized products such as wheat flour, whole wheat flour, tomato puree, toast, cane sugar and wine, was one of the most demanded products in the domestic market,” said Pablo Morón, director of Value Addition and Quality Management of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Nation.

Another food that serves as an example of the growth recorded by the sector is that of jams for domestic consumption, which in 2021, of the total of certified organic industrialized products dumped into the local market, represented 3%, while in 2019 they stood at 0.04%.

At the same time, the number of hives under monitoring registered in 2021 a year-on-year increase of 12% reaching 31,540 hives, punctually in Chaco (34%), Santa Fe (18%) and La Pampa (11%). “The main destination of organic honey is Germany”.

At the same time, Morón said that, in general, organic products have registered a positive trend in the last 5 years with respect to the volumes sold in the domestic market.

Consumers and organic food

“Consumers are increasingly informed and demand to know how the food they take to their tables was produced,” said Morón and, at this point, added: “Thanks to the strict official control by Senasa and national certifying companies, Argentina is today one of the most reliable suppliers of organic products in the world”.

“This seal is a value-added tool that allows consumers to identify, quickly and simply, Argentine organic products at different points of sale, both in the domestic and international markets,” said Morón.

Organic production in numbers

According to the analysis of world statistics (FiBL 2022), there are 190 countries in the world that devote 74.9 million hectares to organic activity. Among them, Argentina has 4.5 million hectares and recorded a 21% increase in area (781,000 ha) between 2019 and 2020.

In the same line, the international organization positions Argentina among the 10 countries with the largest areas of organic farmland 2020 and among the 10 with the highest increase of organic soil in that same year.

As for the international market, the FiBL 2022 analysis indicated that sales of organic food and beverages reached more than 120,000 million euros in 2020 and the countries with the largest organic markets were the United States, Germany and France.

For its part, the Senasa 2022 report confirmed that, during 2021, the organic area harvested rose by 14%, with 96,476 hectares in total, data that sustain the positive trend shown by this variable for the last 10 years.

The Cuyo region led the growth of the harvested area, as well as fruit trees and industrial crops, beans, olives, vines and soybeans, led the increase in harvested area.

The report also confirmed that the main destination of exports of certified organic production is the United States, with 46%, and the European Union with 38%.

Source: Perfil