Organic sector now a $720m industry

New Zealand’s organic sector is now a

$720 million industry and growing steadily, a new report shows. Domestic and global demand for organics saw the sector’s value grow 20 per cent in the three years to 2020, according to Organics Aotearoa NZ. It is now worth an estimated $723m, up from $600m in 2006, with an average growth rate of 6.4 per cent a year. As well as surveying commercial operations, the report contains the first national survey of the community garden sector, 91 per cent of which use organic practices. Organic dairy products make up the largest part of the sector, with exports worth $153.8m.