Extent of organic farming
Organic agriculture is developing rapidly and is now practiced in more than 130 countries of the world of which 50 percent are from developing countries. According to the latest survey, almost 31 million hectares of agricultural land are managed organically . The countries with the largest areas of organic farmland are: Australia (about 11.8 million hectares), Argentina (almost 2.8 million hectares), Italy (almost 1 million hectares) and USA (0.9 million hectares). In Europe, more than 6.3 million hectares are under organic management. In total, Oceania holds 43 percent of the world’s organic land, followed by Europe (23.8 percent). There are probably another 15-20 million hectares of non-certified organic agriculture, mainly in developing countries, often referred to as agro-ecology especially in Latin America. In most Asian countries the area under organic agriculture is still very low, but it is increasing rapidly. Among the more significant countries producing organic products are China, India, Indonesia and Japan. The total organic area in Asia is about 736,000 hectares.
Further, in some developing countries there are large numbers of farmers that practice either traditional agriculture which doesn't rely on purchased inputs, or farmers that just can't afford to buy inputs. For example in Uganda and Tanzania the average use of chemical fertilisers is less than 1 kg per hectare and year. It means that most land is never fertilised.
The global turnover with organic products was around 30 billion Euros in 2006. At present more than 60 countries have a regulation / law on organic farming. The main organically produced product groups which are traded internationally are: fresh fruit and vegetables, dried fruits and nuts, processed fruit and vegetables, coffee, tea and cocoa, spices and herbs, oil crops and derived products, sweeteners grains, dried leguminous vegetables, meat, dairy products, eggs, alcoholic beverages, processed food/food preparations.
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