Organic bread costs nearly a third more than non-organic, while the differential for Gala apples was 69 per cent.

“More than a 60 per cent premium is a big decision for any shopper,” Finn Cottle, trade director for the organic sector umbrella body, told a conference Sept. 22.

After years of double-digit growth the organic sector, which also includes products like makeup and clothes, hit a barrier last year when the economic downturn kicked in.

Sales are now down about 10 per cent, which coupled with tighter credit and some retailers pushing cheaper brands, has put pressure on organic producers, many of which are small, family-run firms.

“I think the price differential should be about 20 per cent,” Cottle said. “We (organic producers) should be looking for a consumer price that is comparable with (non-organic) premium brands. Some (price differences) are quite shocking.”

In contrast with Gala apples, a bottle of organic gin costs only about four per cent more than its non-organic counterpart while cheddar cheese sells for only one per cent more.

Cottle said the sector must reconnect with shoppers who moved away from the organic sector to save money.

“We know many people are in favour of organic, we just have to make sure they buy our products,” she said.

The trade body has a target to push organic sales to three billion pounds ($4.9 billion) by 2015, against the 100 million pounds it was worth in 1994.

Ed Crammer, of market analysts TNS, which looks at supermarket sales, said that while many people bought organic, a far smaller number could be properly termed “organic buyers.”

“Ten per cent of people buying organic represent 57 per cent of total spend… while 14 per cent of those buying organic accounted for just one per cent – basically this latter group buy organic almost by mistake.”

The organic sector needed to target the 90 per cent of people who occasionally buy organic, he added.

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