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After several years of dynamic growth, expansion in Austria’s organic market is slowing down. Organic sales increased slightly by quantity and stagnated by value in the first half of 2024.

After taking a dip in 2022, the EU organic market began to recover in 2023 as consumers’ financial situations improved. France and Germany still have the largest organic markets in the EU and growth is expected in almost every Member State until 2025.

After organic sales declined in 2022, demand began to recover in 2023 and is estimated to continue to have grown moderately in 2024, largely due to decreasing inflation and increasing availability of low-cost store brands.

EU organic sales decreased slightly in 2022, but rebounded in 2023 due to recovering economic conditions.

In 2022, Austrian organic sales reached $2.94 billion, a new high, and remain at a high level in 2023. Despite a difficult market environment with high inflation and a significantly increased cost of living, organic sales increased by over five percent compared to 2021.

The Bulgarian organic market continued to expand in 2022 with an estimated annual growth of 3.2 percent compared to 2021. The main driver behind the growth was the strong consumer focus on a healthier lifestyle and the perception that organic products are healthy and higher quality compared to conventional products.

The COVID-19 pandemic boosted organic food sales in the EU, enabling it to overtake the U.S. market in 2021. However, spiraling inflation combined with high food and energy prices will likely reduce organic food sales in most EU markets in 2022.

Germany is the second largest organic market in the world. It holds good prospects for U.S. organic products, including tree nuts, fruits, vegetables, and processed food products. While market growth slowed this year due to high inflation and rising...

After a record high in 2021 boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Austria’s organic sales remain at a high level in 2022. Austria is still one of the leading countries in organic production and consumption. Conventional supermarket chains are the most...

Bulgaria is a small but growing market for U.S. food and agricultural products. In 2021, total Bulgarian food and agricultural imports were valued at $6.13 billion, up 18 percent from 2020, of which 1.3 percent, or $80.13 million, were sourced from the United States. During the first eight months of 2022, total food and agricultural imports increased by 45.3 percent compared to the same period in 2021.

The Government of Bulgaria (GOB) continues to oppose agricultural biotechnology and supports anti-biotech policy initiatives within the European Commission (EC). Non-governmental anti-biotech organizations, local activists, and Bulgaria’s organics industry actively spread nonscientific disinformation about biotechnology.

This report provides an overview of EU food and feed legislation currently in force for the EU. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) staff reviewed and updated all sections of this annual report.