Shoppers opting for organic as sales increase €9m

Irish food tastes are going organic according to new figures which indicate a 9% increase in the sales of organic produce last year.

A seminar on organic produce, held by Bord Bia, heard yesterday the organic food sector has already grown by €9m this year to €110m, and that almost one-quarter of shoppers now seek out Fairtrade products.

The figures, from Cliona Lynch of retail and consumer group Kantar Food Panel, indicated that 91.5% of shoppers have bought an organic product at least once in the last year and that vegetables, fruit and yogurt make up more than 50% of the organic market.