Posts Tagged “organic produce”
MONTEREY, CA — Total organic fresh produce sales for the first quarter of 2022 increased by 4 percent from the same period last year, topping $2.3 billion for the quarter, according to the Q1 2022 Organic Produce Performance Report released exclusively by Organic Produce Network and Category Partners.
While organic fresh produce sales continued to grow in Q1, overall volume declined due to elevated pricing. Conventional produce showed the same pattern, with sales up 7 percent for the quarter (totaling $16.8 billion) and volume declining by 2.7 percent.
Higher average retail pricing in Q1 is responsible for most of the sales gains of produce items, with conventional produce average pricing up more than 10 percent compared to Q1 of last year. By contrast, organic fresh produce pricing rose just below 5 percent, suggesting it has been able to absorb more of the increased costs related to the current inflationary environment.
“There are some strong takeaways from the Q1 data, most notably that overall volumes remain elevated from Q1 2019, before the Covid pandemic drove double-digit sales and volume gains at retail,” said Tom Barnes, CEO of Category Partners. “We believe the second quarter of this year will tell a similar story as we move further away from 2020 when the pandemic shuttered most foodservice, causing supermarket sales to soar.”
Packaged salads continued to dominate in total organic dollars, reaching nearly $400 million for the quarter, a gain of 1.5 percent year-over-year. The berry category (which includes strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries) grew 9.3 percent in sales from Q1 2021, with strawberries posting gains in both dollars and volume of more than 16 percent. Blueberries, on the other hand, were down 7 percent in dollars and 19 percent in volume from the previous year.
“While organic fresh produce volume declined for the first time in a long while, organic dollar sales continue to grow even after consecutive years of growth due to higher prices across the entire produce department,” said Matt Seeley, CEO of Organic Produce Network. “There remains room for growth of organic fresh produce as long as suppliers remain aware of not only the rising costs of organic produce but also the opportunity presented by a significantly larger increase in conventional produce prices.”
The southern region of the US continued to show the most year-over-year improvement, with dollar growth rising 8 percent, and volume up 3.6 percent. The Northeast was the weakest region, with dollars declining 1.1 percent and volume down 7.7 percent.
The Q1 2022 Organic Produce Performance Report utilized Nielsen retail scan data covering total food sales and outlets in the US over the months of January, February, and March of this year. The full Q1 2022 Organic Produce Performance Report is available on the Organic Produce Network website here.
OPN is a marketing organization serving as the go-to resource for the organic fresh produce industry. The company’s mission is to inform and educate through a strong digital presence with an emphasis on original content and complemented by engaging live events that bring together various components of the organic produce community. The OPN audience includes organic producers, handlers, distributors, processors, wholesalers, foodservice operators, and retailers. www.organicproducenetwork.com
Canadian company Execulytis Consulting reports growth will be largely driven by those under 25 years old increasing their purchasing power.
Likewise, Category Partners of Idaho Falls, ID notes more product availability and the narrowing price gap between organic and conventional produce items is also spurring the market. This price gap has gradually narrowed over time due to more product being available. This will continue to put downward pressure on prices in the future.
A recent Execulytics Consulting survey of 5,000 Canadian grocery shoppers found 39% of consumers under 25 (Generation Z) say organic is always their preferred choice or that they only buy organic products. This compares with 25% of those over 25 saying the same.
This survey revealed consumers under 25 have shown an interest in more specialty products including mangoes, limes and Asian vegetables, and this could provide a growth opportunity for such products. At the same time, they have purchased fewer bananas, apples, potatoes and strawberries than their older counterparts. While this younger age group is not fully in the marketplace yet, they will increase their purchasing power and thus drive growth of organic produce in the future.
During the pandemic, consumers moved toward products they perceived as providing a safer way to obtain food naturally, and this positively affected the organic market.
This perception of safety also gave a boost to packaged produce products. In the past, retailers have been focused on the number of unique items they carry, but the current labor shortage has put pressure on those offerings, which in turn has affected the number of unique organic items retailers can offer.
Carlson Produce Consulting of Chicago notes while the organic market has experienced double-digit growth in the past, that growth has slowed, saying the category is maturing.
However, the growth of indoor farming will boost the segment, and CPC reports there is significant opportunity for indoor farming to grow. The company reports the availability of product on a 52-week basis will be key to driving growth of specific items including blueberries. With this increased availability the market could get a boost from items that aren’t typically the highest drivers of sales.
Category Parnters notes unique salad blends coming out of urban greenhouse environments will drive growth as consumers are discovering those products, and they come with a higher retail price.
During the third quarter of 2021, total organic sales dollars increased by 3.4% compared with the same quarter of the previous year, according to the Organic Produce Network, Category Partners and Nielsen. This compared with a third quarter of 2020 that was influenced by pandemic-driven shopping. Conventional produce dollars increased by 1.3% in comparison. Berries, apples and packaged salads accounted for 85% of all organic fresh produce dollar growth during the third quarter. Berries specifically grew in sales dollars by 11% during the quarter.
In the future the growth of the segment will not be limited by demand but by supply. When consumers are surveyed, they indicate they believe organic produce is superior in every way, indicating a larger share of consumers will act on that preference as more options become more affordable.
Category Partners observes it is not a question of consumer demand, but supplier capabilities and grower capabilities.
During the third quarter of 2021, organic produce represented 12% of the total produce market in the U.S. and it is conceivable the organic segment could gain another 10 percentage points of growth over the next 10 years.
Retail organic produce growth slowed down a bit in the second quarter of 2021, but overall was still well ahead of conventional produce.
The Organic Produce Network published and Category Partners prepared the report using Nielsen data, It revealed total organic dollars during the April through June period increased by 4.1% compared with the same period a year ago.
By way of contrast, conventional produce sales in the second quarter declined by 3.3% compared with year-ago levels.
Organic volume was about even with last year’s levels, registering a gain of 0.2% in the second quarter. That was much better than conventional produce, which experienced a decline of 8.6% compared with the same quarter a year ago.
Generally, consumers in the second quarter of 2021 were not buying as much food in the same way they did during the early months of the pandemic in 2020.
In the second quarter of 2021, organic produce experienced sales somewhat below the historical long-term growth trend, according to the report.
The vegetable category benefited during the pandemic because more consumers were cooking at home, the report said. Times began to change in the second quarter.
“As the foodservice sector reopened, consumers began to shift some meals back to foodservice channels,” the report said. “The net result in Q2, 2021, is many produce categories had relatively tepid growth when matched against Q2, 2020.”
Organic did comparatively well, with organic produce still generating dollar and volume growth in the second quarter while conventional produce declined.
The pandemic isn’t dominating retail trends as it did in 2020.
“It is apparent that consumer supermarket food purchases increasingly reflect the more traditional buying trends versus COVID-inspired purchasing changes,” the report said. “It is also encouraging that even though consumer purchases of conventional produce were lower than Q2, 2020, organic produce continued to generate growth. This shows that the longer-term trend of consumers moving toward organic produce continues to grow.”
Berries were the “star organic category” during the second quarter, increasing dollar performance by over 19% and volume by 16%.
“Berries displaced packaged salads as the No. 1 organic category in dollars for the first time,” the report said.
Citrus (26.7%), lettuce (2.1%) and tomatoes (1.2%) also delivered volume gains for the quarter. However, multiple strong organic categories had volume declines, including important organic contributors like packaged salads, apples, herbs and carrots.
Even so, increasing prices in many organic categories helped mitigate volume declines.
In terms of regional retail organic sales performance, the Northeast region enjoyed a 7.7% dollar growth and 3.6% volume growth in the second quarter.
The normally strong West saw a 0.2% decline in organic sales and a 3.9% volume decline.
The report said the Western performance “is largely a phantom decline” created by comparing against Q2, 2020, when organic sales soared by 17% in dollars and 18% in volume.
“The good news is that setting aside the performance spike that occurred in Q2, 2020, the overall trendline for organic produce volume remained positive,” the report said.
Organic fruits and vegetables grew twice as fast as sales of conventional produce, according to a new study on 2019 retail organic sales.
With growth over 5 percent last year, retail organic produce sales compared with 2 percent growth for conventional fruits and vegetables. The study is a result of the 2019 Organic Produce Performance Report released by the Organic Produce Network and Category Partners.
Retail volume growth in 2019 of organic fruits and vegetables amounted to 4.6 percent, according to a news release, compared with less than 1 percent volume growth for conventional produce.
The report was created using Nielsen retail scan data covering total food sales and outlets in the U.S.
“Organic growth in retail produce departments continues to be strong,” Matt Seeley, CEO of the Organic Produce Network, said in the release. “Last year, sales of organic fruits and vegetables established a new record, hitting $5.8 billion in retail sales. The rate of growth has slowed slightly from previous years, but there is every reason to believe that the growth of organic fruits and vegetables will continue to outpace conventional products.”
The report showed that Northeast U.S. retail sales grew 6.3 percent, tops among all regions. At 5.7 percent, the West region showed the second best growth, followed by 4.7 percent growth in the South and 3 percent growth in the Midwest region.
A key to creating bigger future retail sales is broadening the range of organic commodities, Steve Lutz, senior vice president of Insights and Innovation at Category Partners, said in the release.
“What we see in the Nielsen data is that organic produce at retail is concentrated within fewer categories than conventional produce,“ Lutz said in the release. “The top 10 organic categories in produce drive nearly 70 percent of volume. These same categories contribute only 53 percent to total volume in conventional.”
The scan data indicated top performers for generating organic sales in 2019 were packaged salads and berries, with packaged salads accounting for almost 20 percent of total retail organic sales and the combined berry category (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry) adding another 15 percent.
Bananas, carrots and apples accounted for 41 percent of total organic volume.
“The top 10 organic categories drive 61 percent of total dollars versus only 38 percent percent in conventional,” Lutz said.
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By Pacific Organic Produce
San Francisco, CA — Summer has arrived and with it, the start to the Imported Peruvian citrus season! Pacific Organic Produce now offers organic Peruvian citrus. Our 2nd generation grower operates his family owned and operated farm in the Huaura river valley in Peru, known for its fertile soils. The farm began its transition to organic in 2004 and was certified organic in 2010.
The farm focuses on using natural predators to maintain fruit quality and keeps a keen eye on balancing sugar and acid for optimum flavor. Food safety is of utmost importance to the family and the farm is Global GAP certified. They are the first certified organic citrus shipper to export to the US and we’re proud to offer the fruit for now the 7th season – time to get excited for the only “off season”, certified organic, specialty citrus available in the US – Satsuma, Minneola & Murcotts.
A steady supply of 9kg Satsumas will be available July and August, followed by a steady supply of 15kg Minneola and 9kg Murcott in August and September. A poly film 12×2# bag is also available for consumer convenience. Summer is looking even better!
About Pacific Organic Produce
Pacific Organic Produce represents organic growers from the United States and Latin America, providing the finest quality in organic fresh fruit and vegetables to retailers, wholesalers and processors across North America, featuring the Purity Organic brand.
Their growers are third-party certified organic, using the most up-to-date organic and sustainable farming methods. By partnering with these growers over the past 18 years, Pacific Organic has managed to bring year-round supplies of organically raised fruits and vegetables to marketplaces across the country.
by Carol Bareuther, PerishableNews.com
Seasonal fruits, emerging specialty vegetables, convenience or pre-cooked ingredients and chile peppers are the four hottest produce trends in 2017, according to Robert Schueller, director of public relations at Melissa’s World Variety Produce, a specialty produce purveyor based in Los Angeles. Schueller should know. He’s 20-plus year industry veteran and Melissa’s is the leading distributor of more than 1,200 specialty and organic produce products in the United States, selling nationwide and to the top 20 U.S. retailers. In fact, Schueller’s trends report for 2017 is based off sales of the company’s produce in the marketplace for the 365 days ending October 18, 2017 compared to the year prior. The produce items that had the largest percentage of increased distribution at retail and foodservice is what created the four trends categories.
1) Seasonal Fruits:
* Green Dragon Apples. Schueller calls sales of this sweet non-tart cross between a Golden Delicious and Indo variety from Japan one of the biggest trends in specialty fruit. This yellow skin apple doesn’t store well and is only sold fresh during its short-season from October to December.
* Muscato Grapes. This proprietary variety available July to October from the United States and February and March from Peru, is notable for its high brix or sugar content of 22 compared to 16 for the average grape.
* Winter/Christmas Crunch Grapes. October to December harvested California-grown fruit extends the season from the customary May to September. These are packaged for seasonal merchandising.
* Passion Fruit. Nearly all distribution in the United States is the purple-skin variety, sourced nearly year-round from Florida and California as well as New Zealand. A short supply gap occurs in December and January.
* Jackfruit. New-found interest stems from use of the fruit’s fiber as a vegetarian protein substitute. Eye-catching to sell whole at retail due to its size, more convenient pre-cut jackfruit as a product is currently challenged by short-shelf life issues.
* Rambutan. Closely related to the lychee, this fruit is now available almost year-round multisourced from Central America and Hawaii.
2) Emerging Specialty Vegetables:
* Organic Ginger. Now its annual availability, rather than for only six months, is driving sales.
* Turmeric. Interest in East Indian cuisine, as a substitute for ginger in juicing and its health benefits has sparked recent sales of this spice. Turmeric was the top trending functional food according to the report, ˜Think with Google: Food Trends 2016.”
* Pee Wee Potatoes. Once composted for not meeting grade size, the marble-size of these potatoes is now in demand for its short cooking time.
* Tatuma Squash. Similar in appearance to zucchini, this squash’s staple use in Latin cooking drives its placement in-store.
* Indian Eggplant. A tomato-sized version of a traditional globe eggplant, attributes are an edible skin and short cooking time.
* Tomatillo Milpero. Baby vegetables are big, and this bite-sized tomatillo is riding this trend.
* Petite Baby Bok Choy. This product leads sales in the Asian ethnic category, and demand has become cross-cultural. The small size means no chopping required.
* White Asparagus. Labor intensive to grow since it must be protected from sunlight-producing chlorophyll that customarily colors this vegetable green, white asparagus is more expensive to produce yet is finding widespread favor from fine dining chefs.
3) Convenience / Pre-Cooked Ingredients:
Technology in France not yet introduced to the United States enabled Melissa’s to introduce its steamed line of vegetables 13 years ago with beets first, followed by lentils. The idea is to take items with relatively long prep times, pre-cook and package ready to eat with a preservative-free shelf life of two months. New this year, the company has added Gold Baby Beets, Organic Steamed Lentils and Parisienne Potatoes.
4) Chile Peppers:
* Shishito Peppers. This kid-friendly pepper is all about flavor rather than heat, says Schueller. Popular in Japanese restaurants where its roasted and seasoned with sesame oil and served as an appetizer.
* Hatch Chiles. The mountainous 4,000-feet plus elevation and near 50-degree difference between day and nighttime temperatures in Hatch, NM, produces this thick, meaty, mild-tasting chile. Popularity beyond the Southwest and a short August to September season stems from the pepper’s ability to be roasted, frozen and used all year long.
* Thai Chiles. Small and hot, with a heat-rating between a jalapeno and habanero, this chile first loved in Asian cuisine is now cross-cultural thanks to finding favor in Latin dishes.
New data is shedding light on where increased U.S. per capita consumption is coming from with fruit. Also, organic produce continues to show increasing popularity
Apples, some citrus varieties, blueberries and tropical fruit, have given a boost to U.S. fresh fruit per capita use, which grew a strong 3 percent in 2016.
The USDA’s fruit yearbook report revealed that total fresh fruit per capita consumption in 2016 was rated at 116.05 pounds, up 3 percent from 112.5 pounds in 2015.
2016 fresh citrus per capita use rose 6 percent to 24.02 pounds, up from 22.73 pounds in 2016. Fresh non-citrus per capita use was pegged at 92.03 pounds, 2 percent higher than 89.81 pounds in 2015.
2016 per capita use of fresh fruit commodities, with percent changed compared with 2015:
- Lemons, 4.15 pounds (+15%);
- Limes, 3.48 pounds (+15%);
- Mangoes, 2.96 (+14%);
- Blueberries, 1.77 pounds (+10%);
- Papayas, 1.43 pounds (+8%);
- Apples, 18.55 pounds (+7%);
- Oranges, 9.17 pounds (+6%);
- Pineapples, 7.28 pounds (+4%);
- Strawberries, 8.03 pounds (+4%);
- Pears, 2.76 (+4%);
- Grapes, 8.08 pounds (+3%);
- Tangerines, 5.28 pounds (+1%);
- Avocados, 7.08 pounds (-2%);
- Bananas, 27.55 pounds (-2%);
- Peaches, 2.86 (-5%); and
- Grapefruit, 1.94 pounds (-13%)
Study Shows Growth of Organics
A Nielsen Co. study shows organic produce grew 9 percent in dollars year-over-year and represented a 10 percent share of total produce as of last summer.
Consumers are said to be buying larger packages of organic berries, instead of smaller containers such as pints. Increase they are buying more 18-ounce to 2-pound containers.
Prepackaged salads continue to lead organic sales, with 3 percent year-on-year growth in 2017.
Consumers continue to seek out healthy meal alternatives such as kale, colored carrots, green cabbage and broccoli, with a mix of flavors and textures. Lettuce and berries continue to dominate the organic sales, combining for nearly a 30 percent sales increase in the U.S.
Apples and spinach are the next largest organic categories, with 9 and 8 pecent of sales.
Overall, only 14 categories make up 80 percent of organic produce sales, compared to 20 categories within the conventional space.
Such commodities as limes, cherries, beets, avocados, beans and lemons had 20 to 30 percent growth over the previous year, even though those items account for only 4 pecent of organic produce sales.
Larger categories also are growing. Among those, organic berries grew 29 percent year over year. Blackberries and blueberries are growing at a quicker rate (46 and 35 percent, respectively) than strawberries (26 percent). Organic bananas and apples are also growing, at 18 and 12 percent, respectively.
In Washington state, there is projected to be 50 percent more organic apples over the next season, an increase another 100 percent over the next two years. Apples are considered one of the easier crops to grow organically.
Organic produce sales displayed a strong increase in 2016 after sales had cooled a bit the previous year.The Organic Trade Association’s 2017 Organic Industry Survey showed an 8.4 percent increase compared with the previous year as organic fruit and vegetable sales increased to $15.6 billion in 2016.
In a comparison, organic fruit and vegetables sales in 2015 were $14.4 billion, up 10.5 percent. The fruit and vegetable sector accounted to nearly 40 percent of all organic food sales in 2016, and the 8.4 percent growth rate compares with the overall 3.3 percent gain for total fruit and vegetable sales.
Fresh produce has generally accounted for about 90 percent of the organic fruit and vegetable sales. The balance of sales is with canned, frozen, or dried organic fruits and vegetables.
The OTA survey, produced in February and March by Nutrition Business Journal for the Organic Trade Association, noted organic fruits and vegetables now make up almost 15 percent of the produce that Americans eat.
The OTA survey places overall organic food sales at $43 billion, up $3.3 billion or 8.4 percent higher compared with the previous year. That is well above the nearly flat 0.6 percent growth in total food sales, according to the release. The survey shows organic food now accounts for 5.3 percent of total food sales.
“The organic industry continues to be a real bright spot in the food and ag economy both at the farm-gate and check-out counter,” Organic Trade Association CEO and executive director Laura Batcha said in a news release.
Batcha said there are challenges to the category’s growth.
“We need more organic farmers in this country to meet our growing organic demand, and the organic sector needs to have the necessary tools to grow and compete on a level playing field,” she said. “That means federal, state and local programs that help support organic research, and provide the organic farmer with a fully equipped tool kit to be successful.”
The survey numbers from the organic association differ widely from the United Fresh Produce Association’s FreshFacts on Retail report, which pegged organic produce sales at retail (not including processing or foodservice outlet sales) at $4.46 billion in 2016, up 13.2% from 2015. Additionally, the United Fresh numbers — from Nielsen Fresh — said organic sales in 2016 accounted for 9% of all fresh produce sales. The 9% organic market share number from FreshFacts is 40% below the OTA’s 15% estimate for organic’s share of the produce market.
Organic produce in various categories continues to show significant growth in popularity.
According to FreshFacts on Retail, published by the United Fresh Produce Association for the third-quarter of 2016, weekly dollar sales of organic vegetables per store were up 7.6 percent compared to the third quarter of 2015. Dollar sales of organic fruit were up 17.5 percent.
Organic Attitudes and Beliefs 2016 published by The Organic Trade Association found over 82 percent of American families say they buy organic sometimes, one of the highest levels in the survey’s seven-year history.
Almost 5 percent of all the food sold in the U.S. in 2015 was organic.
Suppliers of organic produce were reporting sizeable increases.
Naturipe Farms LLC of Salinas, CA, the world’s larger produce of organic blueberries, doubling its production of organic blueberries in Argentina and Chile.
This month the company is producing its first crops of organic raspberries, blackberries and blueberries from Mexico and is investing in new production of organic strawberries, blueberries and blackberries in California and Florida.
Well-Pict Inc. of Watsonville started its new spring crop of strawberries from Ventura County, CA in mid-January, and will be shipping into spring.
Boskovich Farms Inc., of Oxnard, CA ships a number of organic vegetables led by kale, then Brussels sprouts, green onions and celery.
Stemilt Growers LLC, Wenatchee, WA is shipping organic apples and pears, with approximately 10 percent of it apple shipments coming from organic apples with galas, Honeycrisp, and granny smith among the top varieties.
CMI Orchards LLC in Wenatchee, WA has organic shipments that are up about 50 percent, with the trend expected to continue for the next four years. More acreage is being transitioned from conventional to organic. CMI offers 15 organic apple varieties and six organic pear varieties.
Viva Tierra Organic Inc., Sedro-Woolley, WA is handling organic apple supplies from Argentina and Chile that started earlier this month, in addition to its organic supply from Washington.
by Organic Trade Association
Americans are gobbling up more organic fruits and vegetables than ever before, from organic blueberries and organic apples to organic packaged greens and cut-up organic vegetables ready for their children’s lunch box or their family’s dinner plate.
Over half of all households in the United States now purchase organic produce. The sale of organic bananas alone – now a $165 million market – soared by more than 30 percent last year. Organic “value-added” vegetables (think chopped kale, peeled carrots and ready-to-cook squash) grew by a whopping 54 percent in 2015 to almost $150 million.
What’s big in the organic produce sector? A few standouts in the produce section:
- Organic bananas: Sales up a solid 33 percent from a year ago.
- Organic blackberries: Sales up a sharp 61 percent from a year ago.
- Organic salad greens and organic baby carrots: Sales of each up 11 percent versus a year ago.
- Organic Pink Lady Apples: Sales almost double (up 96 percent) that of a year ago.
“The organic produce market is growing and strong, and it is driving trends in produce innovation across the board,” said Laura Batcha, Executive Director and CEO of the Organic Trade Association (OTA) recently at the first-ever Organic Produce Summit, held in Monterey, California.
Digging deep into the produce aisle, Batcha gave a State of the Organic Produce presentation on Thursday, unveiling the findings of a report on the produce-buying habits of Americans compiled for the Organic Trade Association by Nielsen, the global information and measurement company.
According to the OTA 2016 Organic Industry Survey released in May, fresh organic produce sales in the U.S. reached $13 billion in 2015. (Total sales of organic fruits and vegetables, including fresh, frozen and canned, amounted to $14.4 billion.) The $13-billion market includes $5.7 billion worth of organic produce sold in the mass market (supermarkets, big-box stores, warehouse clubs), $4.7 billion sold by specialty and natural retailers, and $2.7 billion in direct sales (farmers’ markets, CSAs, online).
Nielsen measures organic sales primarily from the mass market, and puts organic produce sales at $5.5 billion. The Nielsen figures do not include specialty and natural retailers, nor direct sales. Further, Nielsen’s data reflect grocery coding systems, which are based on retailer description and in which organic can be under-represented.
The Nielsen figures, however, delve down to the specific types of organic vegetable or organic fruit sold, providing detailed information on the buying habits of consumers in the major category of supermarkets and big-box stores.
Since 2011, the sales of produce in this country have increased over 25 percent. Convenience, a greater awareness of the health benefits of produce, and an increased interest in local food sources largely contributed to the increase. And driven by the desire to improve upon already healthy food choices, organic fruit sales have soared 123 percent during that time, while organic vegetable sales have jumped by 92 percent.
The U.S. organic industry saw its largest dollar gain ever in 2015, adding $4.2 billion in sales. Total organic food sales in the U.S. were $39.7 billion, up 11 percent from the previous year. Organic produce sales accounted for 36 percent of the organic market. Almost 13 percent of all the produce sold in the United States now is organic.
The Nielsen findings showed that today’s organic produce shopper tends to be more kid-focused than the average produce shopper, and that the huge majority of these enthusiastic organic produce buyers – 77 percent – are going to their favorite grocery store or supermarket chain to buy their organic fruits and vegetables.
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. OTA is the leading voice for the organic trade in the United States, representing over 8,500 organic businesses across 50 states. Its members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers’ associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA’s Board of Directors is democratically elected by its members. OTA’s mission is to promote and protect ORGANIC with a unifying voice that serves and engages its diverse members from farm to marketplace.