Austria

Country

Austria

Continent

Western Europe

Market Performance

Market is approx. 1b euros. Growth is strong but organic farming land is not keeping up with the trend.

The organic market in Austria is dominated by conventional supermarket chains and discounters which account for about two-thirds of the annual turnover(79%). Specialised organic shops (15%)also play an important role and are expanding and modernising their premises new customers.

Consumer Preferences & Channels 

Top-selling products: Eggs (18.4 % of all eggs sold on the food market), milk (17.8 %), potatoes (17.2 %), fresh vegetables (11.6 %) and butter (11 %).

Catering is a very important channel for organic, in both the public and private sectors.

Legislative Considerations 

Come under the control of EU regulation. Any food product sold as 'organic' falls under the EU regulations 834/2007 and 889/2008.

This means that the product must have been produced to these regulations and inspected and certified by a registered EU certification body.

Currently non-foods (e.g textiles and health & beauty products) are not covered by the scope of this regulation.

In addition to the code number of the control agency and the logo of the European Union (EU), the AMA label for organic farming may be printed on the product.

Sources & Links to Further Info

Main certification organisation
http://www.bio-austria.at/

National action plan: The Organic Farming Action Plan of the Ministry of Life
http://www.bmlfuw.gv.at/land/bio-lw.html