Foods with an organic label are often more expensive than those without. There are fears that people will prefer cheap food when inflation is high. In Saxony, on the other hand, people are optimistic.
Dresden (dpa/sn) - Saxon Agriculture Minister Wolfram Günther (Greens) sees the market for organic products as stable despite the sharp rise in consumer prices. "Since the beginning of the pandemic, organic and regional products have received an unprecedented boost. I assume that this is a development that cannot be reversed," he told the German Press Agency in Dresden. With energy prices rising sharply, however, it is more than understandable that households are looking at every cent.
"However, many people stay with organic and regional because they have learned to appreciate the advantages of these foods: the short distances, the freshness. Some of them know the producers," explained Günther. Consumers could find out under what conditions their milk, their eggs and their sausages are produced for the animals. "You know that with regional products, more money stays in the region. Organic food is good for the environment and biodiversity, for the climate and animals. And short distances are good for the climate and the environment."
According to Günther, his house receives various reports from the industry. "In some companies, sales of organic and regional products have fallen, mind you after really strong growth in 2020 and 2021. Other companies are telling us that demand is continuing or increasing again. The bottom line is: organic and regional products are at a significantly higher level than before the pandemic started." The number of providers and users on the online portal for regional food has increased significantly.
The minister recalled numerous problems: "The climate crisis with heat and drought, the war in Ukraine, the increased prices for inputs: agriculture is currently having to deal with many crises at the same time." Right now, strengthening organic farming and regional value chains is a highly effective antidote to the crises. Regional food would offer farmers and processors income prospects. "It makes them independent of the roller coaster rides on the world markets."
"If more of what we eat in Saxony and Germany is also grown in Saxony and Germany, that will also make us more crisis-proof as a society," said Günther.
