Organic farming is practiced around the globe, but the markets for sale are strongest in North America and Europe, while the greatest dedicated area is accounted for by Australia, the greatest number of producers are in India, and the Falkland Islands record the highest share of agricultural land dedicated to organic production.
Organic farming by continent The following information is taken from the 2009 edition of the yearbook "The World of Organic Agriculture", published by the International Federation of Organic Movements IFOAM, the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and the International Trade Centre ITC.
According to the latest survey on organic agriculture, carried out by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements IFOAM, organic agriculture is developing rapidly, and statistical information is now available from 141 countries of the world. Its share of agricultural land and farms continues to grow in many countries. The main results of the global survey on certified organic farming show that 32.2 million hectares of agricultural land are managed organically by more than 1.2 million producers, including smallholders (2007). In addition to the agricultural land, there are 0.4 million hectares of certified organic aquaculture. Global demand for organic products remains robust, with sales increasing by over five billion US Dollars a year. Organic Monitor estimates international sales to have reached 46.1 billion US Dollars in 2007 (WorldStats2009,FiBL, IFOAM, ITC 2009). Since global statistics have first been collated, Australia has reported more certified organic hectares than any other country.Paull, John & Hennig, Benjamin (2018) Maps of Organic Agriculture in Australia, Journal of Organics. 5 (1): 29–39. Australia currently accounts for 35 million certified organic hectares which is 54% of the world's certified organic agricultural land and 8.8% of Australia's agricultural land.
Africa Africa has 1.3 million hectares of organic agricultural land as of 2014. Even though Africa has the second largest land area of any continent, it has the smallest distribution of organic agricultural land at 3%.
Much of Africa's organic agricultural activity is concentrated in East Africa and less in other countries. Within the continent, however, Uganda has the largest organic area (231,157 hectares) and the largest number of organic producers (189,610). Globally, Uganda has the second largest number of organic producers (190,552) – following India's 650,000. The East African Community (Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania) make up 35% of the African organic farming land.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, "there is a growing recognition among policymakers that organic agricultural has a significant role to play in addressing food security issues, land degradation impacts, poverty alleviation and climate change in Africa." There is also economic incentive to pursue organic farming in Africa. North America and Europe make up a majority of consumer demand for organic products, with 97 percent of global revenues. The expectation is that African countries can tap into this growing market in industrialized countries through organic exports. Organic agricultural land in Africa has had relatively slow growth and does not have comparable infrastructure to more established organic systems in North America and Europe. Because of this, there is less data and consistent information around the regulation of organic agriculture in Africa. Tanzania offers an example of how organic farming is being managed in one East African country.
Tanzania follows the East African Organic Product Standard, which was adopted by the East African Community in 2007. This is the official standard for organic agriculture production in the region as established by the United Nations Environment Program and the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development. By 2005 Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania had developed different organic standards. The East African Organic Product Standard was an attempt to alleviate challenges around market exclusion because of different criteria for organic products. Some of the standards that have been set include criteria around genetically modified organisms, social justice, crop production, animal husbandry and labelling. They also provide a "List of substances which may be used in organic plant production" and a "List of additives and processing aids for organic food processing."
As of 2000, 45.1% of Tanzania's GDP was generated from agricultural activities and agricultural workers made up 84.4% of the country's total labor force. Even though many small-scale farmers in Tanzania practice traditional farming – where they use not inputs – they are not all certified and can't benefit from the price premiums associated with certified organic products. Of the products that are certified organic, most are exported to international markets. Of the organic producers selling outside of the country, their production includes coffee, cocoa, tea, spices, horticultural produce such as fruits and vegetables, cotton, maize, sesame, banana and cassava. Additionally, even though organic farming is mentioned in the 2006 Livestock Policy and 2013 Agriculture Policy, Tanzania's organic market is not regulated.
Asia The total organic area in Asia is nearly 2.9 million hectares. This constitutes nine percent of the world's organic agricultural land. 230’000 producers were reported. The leading countries are China (1.6 million hectares) and India (1 million hectares). The highest shares of organic land of all agricultural land are in Timor Leste (seven percent). Organic wild collection areas play a major role in India and China. Production of final processed products is growing, although a majority of production is still fresh produce and field crops with low value-added processing, such as dry or processed raw ingredients. Aquaculture (shrimp and fish) on the other hand, is emerging in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar. Textiles is another important trend. Sector growth is now also driven by imports, and local markets have taken off in many of the big cities in the South and Eastern part of region besides Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai, Jakarta, Delhi, Bangalore and other cities are increasing internal consumption of organic products. Nine organic regulations are in place. In seven countries work on national standards and regulations is in progress.(FiBL, IFOAM, ITC 2009). Many organic products are imported from Oceania and the North America.
Modern organic agriculture in China began in the 1990s, focusing primarily on exporting to international markets. Historically, China has 4,000 years of traditional sustainable farming methods. Some of these traditional farming methods include crop rotation, composting combined with organic matter recycling and traditional ecological systems, such as mulberry trees utilized with fish ponds to help maintain soil fertility.
The modern Chinese organic system was heavily influenced by the standards, concepts, organization and accreditation developed in Western countries. One of the first certified organic products to come out of China was tea from Lin’an County in Zhejiang Province, which was exported to the Netherland signifying the beginning of organic production in China. Since the 1990s, Chinese organic agriculture has expanded rapidly due to the growing demand of international trade and production in organic foods. As the global organic market expanded, the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) established the Organic Food Development Center (OFDC) in 1994, to certify organic agriculture based on international standards. In 2001, OFDC was able to institute the first comprehensive standard for certifying organic products in China. However, due to rising demand, SEPA created another agency in 2002, the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China (CAAC) to manage new fields of accreditation. In 2005, CAAC instituted the Chinese National Organic Product Standard, based on international standards that was compatible with American, Japanese and European organic standards, including a national logo for national products. This overlap in competing government agencies is not uncommon in China. Some scholars believe that the Chinese government is using this competition to determine which organic system is most optimal. Presently, OFDC remains the most commonly used certifying agency for most Chinese organic producers, but it ultimately depends on the destination of their products whether to certify with OFCD or CAAC.
China has the 4th largest area for organic agricultural land in the world at 1.9 million hectares. In 2009, there were 4,000 certified organic enterprises in China, primarily focused on exporting to the United States, European Union and Japan. The main products destined for export are beans, rice, tea, mushrooms, vegetables, processed oil and herbs. Beans, at approximately 42 percent of the total export value, is the largest export followed behind by cereals, nuts, vegetables, and tea. In 2009, Chinese organic products were traded to more than 20 different countries. According to the China Organic Food Certification Center (COFCC), exported organic products increased in value in 1995 from $300K USD to US$350 million in 2004, which accounted for 1.7 percent of the total value for Chinese agricultural exports.
Organic agricultural products are produced mainly in three different areas: Northeast China, the coastal areas of Eastern China and Southeast China. The main certified areas in Northeast China include the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, and Liaoning province, which produces cereals, beans, pumpkin and sunflower kernels. In the developed coastal regions, which include Shandong, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Fujiang provinces, the focus is on producing organic vegetables for the Japanese and the internal Chinese market. Southeast China provinces like Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Fujian are the main areas for organic tea production. The processing for these products are mainly located in the highly developed and urban areas of eastern China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shandong and Jiangsu Province.
The domestic organic market was completely non-existent in China at the start of modern organic production, but it has grown steadily since the year 2000. This is partially due to increasing concerns over food safety, which a huge issue among Chinese consumers, as the government estimates 40,000 people are affected by food poisoning in a year. In wealthier urban areas like Hong Kong, where demand for organic food is increasing, consumers are concerned about the fact that China uses 30% of world's nitrogen fertilizer on 10% of world's arable land along with being the largest user of pesticides and fertilizer in the world. The capital city of Beijing is the largest domestic organic market, accounting for approximately 1/3 of total domestic market value. Large urban metropolises like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Shenzhen are also major domestic markets. Domestic organic food are found mainly in supermarkets, specialized stores and home delivery systems, which have gained popularity in recent years. The most common products in these domestic markets are rice, beans, meat, milk, eggs, vegetables, and cooking oil. Within China, organic products are cost significantly more than conventional products, with cereals and meat being three times the price of conventional products. Organic vegetables can be as much as 10 times the price of conventional vegetables.