Organic produce sales top $8.5 billion in 2020, up 14% from 2019
Published: February 8, 2021
Category: COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts
Organic produce outpaced growth of conventionally grown produce in both sales and volume in 2020. The 2020 performance report from the Organic Produce Network and Category Partners reported an increase for organic of over $1 billion (from 2019) to $8.5 billion, up 14.2%. Conventional produce sales rose 10.7%.
In volume, organic increased 16% with conventional growing by 9%. The largest volume mover was organic bananas at 16%, followed by apples, berries, and prepackaged salads.
The pandemic has caused consumers to shift to healthier, in-home dining. Nine of the ten top organic sales and volume categories saw double-digit growth. The top three sales categories for 2020 were packaged salads, berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries), and apples. The largest year-over-year sales increases were seen for herbs and spices (up 26%) and potatoes (up 21%).
All four U.S. geographic regions experienced double-digit growth, with the West topping the list with $2.6 billion in sales, followed by the South with $2.5 billion. Sales in the West jumped 16.8%, with 17.5% increase in volume; the South showed a 14.7% jump in sales and 17.8% in volume. The Northeast reported sales of $1.9 billion and a 14% volume increase; the Midwest reported $1.3 billion sales with a 12% volume increase.
Steve Lutz of Category Partners is encouraged by the organic growth during an economic downturn, which is predicted to continue into 2021. He mentioned growth opportunities through gaining distribution and supplying latent consumer demand in many U.S. regions.
Source: Organic Product Network
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Organic & Non-GMO Insights February 2021
