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THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • MARCH 2018
• NEWS
Organic sector grows
The organic sector in theUK is nowworth£2.2billion,
growing6% in 2017, according to theSoil Association’s
2018OrganicMarket Report. Themarket has now had
six years of steady growth, withorganic accounting for
1.5%of the total UK food anddrinkmarket. In 2017,
sales of organic in independent retail have grownby
9.7%, and in homedelivery by 9.5%, with almost 30%of
all organic sales now takingplace online or on the high
street. Supermarket sales of organic have also continued
to increase, risingby 4.2% this year, while nonorganic
sales increasedby just over 2%. Produce had the highest
value growth, equating to £20million in sales and risingby
6.5%. ClareMcDermott, BusinessDevelopment Director,
Soil AssociationCertification, said: ¸One of thebiggest
stories for organic over thepast couple of years has been
the rise of online shopping, and it’s a trend that shows
no signof slowingdown. Drivenby convenience, an ever
broader range of choice, andby younger generations
entering themarket, it’s no surprise online sales are
outperforming the traditional supermarket onorganic.
Online retail is also able to adapt and innovate at a faster
pace than in-store, bringing new and trend-ledproducts
tomarket, andpeople are recognising that they canoften
find abetter range online. ¸As a result, homedelivery
already accounts for almost 13%of the organicmarket
and the expectation is that this could reach asmuch as
25% in the near future. It’s a good fit for organic too: the
local, fresh, farm-to-door approachof box schemes is in
linewith the ethos of organic and appeals to consumers
who value foodprovenance.¹
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GardS
Anorganic liquid formulationof garlicextract containing sulphur.
GardS isanorganic foliarnutrientwhich isused tocorrectnutrientdeficiencyand
promotecrophealth. It stimulatesplants tocreateanenvironment around leaves
and roots that isuninviting toa rangeof pests.
Approvedas a restricted input byboth theSoil AssociationandOrganicFarmers
andGrowers, GardScanbeusedonmost horticultural crops includingbrassicas,
carrots, swedes, lettuceand leafy salads.
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OMEXCompanies
@
OMEXCompanies
GardS
Anorganic liqiud formulationof
garlicextractcontaining sulphur.
Tocorrectnutrientdeficiency
andpromotecrophealth.
Pot plant expansion
In linewith the strategic extensionof its product portfolio
Selecta one has acquired the assortment andbreeding
programme of Topcolor Breeding vof, Holland.With
this acquisitionSelecta one expands for the first time
into Åoweringpot plants. Since 2004Topcolor Breeding
has specialised inbreeding single ÅoweringKalanchoe
varieties the total sales volume reaching 7million units per
year. Dr UlrichSander, CMO/CTOSelecta one, explains
the large genepool will help todevelop the assortment
programme further and launch new attractiveproducts
into their worldwidemarkets.
