“While total U.S. food sales grew by only 1.6 percent in 2009, organic food sales grew by 5.1 percent. Meanwhile, organic non-food sales grew by 9.1 percent, as opposed to total non-food sales which had a 1 percent negative sales growth rate. These findings are indicative that even in tough times, consumers understand the benefits that organic products offer and will make other cuts before they give up products they value,” said Christine Bushway, OTA’s Executive Director.
Experiencing the most growth, organic fruits and vegetables, which represent 38 percent of total organic food sales, reached nearly $9.5 billion in sales in 2009, up 11.4 percent from 2008 sales.
Most notable, organic fruits and vegetables now represent 11.4 percent of all U.S. fruit and vegetable sales.