France, March 21 -- A drop in demand for organic food in France is raising difficult questions for the country's organic farmers. A new law passed in March maintained organic farming targets, but critics say it does nothing to boost the sector at a time when climate concerns are crucial, and pits productivity against the environment.
After double-digit growth in the last few years, including throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, organic food is in free fall in France.
"During Covid we reached 12 to 15 percent of our sales in organic, but then after Covid, people were more cautious about their food spending, so it has dropped," Pierre Gratacos, operations director for Cardell, an apple producer in south-western France, explained at the recent ...