Increase of organic farming in Germany

According to consolidated data relased by the ZMP the number of organic farms has increased to 17'557 with 825'539 hectares under organic management (as of end 2006). This constitutes 4.9 % of the agricultural land and 4.6 % of all farms in Germany. The total area under organic agriculture went up 2.3% (5.2% in 2005), the number of farms showed a higher growth rate of 3.2% (2.5% in 2005). The total number of businesses operating in the organic food sector (producers, processors, importers and traders) increased by 8.8% in 2006 (5.4% in 2005) to 23'978. According to Professor Hamm of the University of Kassel and to Markus Rippin of Agromilagro Research the market for organic food amounts to 4.6 billion Euro, representing a growth of 18 % compared to 2005 (3.9 billion Euro). The market share is 3 %.