Consumers value organic food, but production lags behind ambitions
Consumers are generally positive about organic food, although price and a lack of encouragement remain barriers. At the same time, organic farmland is not yet expanding fast enough to meet the target of 15% organic farming by 2030.
The website www.staatvanbiologisch.nl tracks the development of the organic market in the Netherlands. New research results have been published today. The BioMarktMeter has been updated with the latest insights from the annual consumer monitor. The most recent production figures for organic farming can also be found in the Monitor Action Plan Organic.
Consumers generally positive about organic food
The latest consumer monitor, an annual survey among a representative panel of 3,000 Dutch consumers, shows that consumers have a positive attitude towards organic food. Consumers find it slightly easier than last year to judge whether food is organic.
They associate organic food mainly with benefits for society, and to a slightly lesser extent with benefits for the average Dutch person and for themselves. Across all sales channels, consumers link organic food to aspects such as “contains no pesticides”, “no added chemical colourings, flavourings or fragrances”, and “is good for nature”. Awareness of organic food has risen slightly over the past year, particularly in online supermarkets and in out-of-home channels. Awareness of organic food remains highest in organic food shops.
The EU organic logo is recognised by just over half of consumers (53%), while 46% are also able to correctly identify the logo.
Price remains the main challenge
Despite this positive attitude, price remains the main barrier to purchase. WUR researcher Mariët van Haaster-de Winter says: “Consumers often estimate the price of organic products to be high, sometimes even higher than it actually is. At the same time, the amount consumers are willing to pay is usually lower than the price they expect to pay for organic products.”
Consumers also indicate that they experience little encouragement from their social circle to buy organic food. Personal responsibility still plays only a limited role for many consumers.
Opportunities for further growth
The group of consumers who buy organic food, at least occasionally, has grown slightly. Organic food is eaten or drunk least often in out-of-home channels, although this is also where the relatively strongest increase can be seen. Of consumers who do not buy organic food in supermarkets, 15% say they would be open to doing so. When consumers consider buying organic food, this most often concerns fruit and vegetables, followed by eggs, meat and dairy.
Growth in organic farmland lags behind ambitions
New figures from the Monitor Action Plan Organic show that the organic agricultural area grew by 3% in 2025, reaching almost 87,000 hectares. More than three quarters of this area consists of grassland. Despite this increase, the share of organic farming, at 4.8%, remains far below the national target of 15% by 2030.
The annual growth of the organic agricultural area is clearly below the average of 6.4% over the period 2015 to 2025. This indicates that the transition to organic farming is progressing more slowly than in previous years. At the same time, incomes on organic arable, vegetable and dairy farms lag behind those of conventional farms, which may further slow down the transition.
About the research
Both the BioMarktMeter and the Monitor Action Plan Organic are initiatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature and are carried out by Wageningen University & Research. The monitors provide insight into production, demand and supply, thereby supporting the Action Plan for the Growth of Organic Production and Consumption 2022 to 2030.
All results are available at www.staatvanbiologisch.nl.
