Why organic food is expensive?

Customers often wonder why organic food is so much more expensive. I would like state a few facts here:

 

    1. Less yield means more cost: Organic farming produces almost 30% less yield compared to non- organic; and in the case of vegetables the difference is almost 50%
    2. Due to the small quantity and therefore the use of smaller processing machines, the % age of wastage in organic is much more.
    3. Small quantity also means that per-kg transportation cost goes up quite a bit in organic
    4. Removing weeds from farm land is one of the biggest costs for farmers. In non organic, the process is much easier due to the use of chemicals.  But since organic involves the difficult manual process of weed removal, many farmers don’t want to get into organic.

 

Finally, I'd just like to say this: If an organic product is sold with just a 20% to 30% increase in price, then I have my own doubts if it is genuinely organic. I know for a fact that even if we sell organic products at a price that is 100% more than non-organic, it won't be profitable because of the difference in volumes. So until the percentage of customers increases and the volume goes up, the cost will not come down for authentically organic products. Currently, the percentage  of organic customers is not even 1%. Food for thought?

(The author is Founder & CEO of VJ Organic Farms, Serial Entrepreneur, Founder & Managing Director - VJ Media Works, Director IOAA)

 

2 comments

  • Know More about Global Organic Farming Market@https://marketresearchport.com/reports/global-organic-farming-market-size-trends-and-forecast-2034/

    Avez Shaikh
  • The organic farming market is projected to reach $321.79 billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 11.4%.

    Avez Shaikh

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