Understanding organic markets and the production of relevant statistics with special focus on the trade/wholesaler/processor level

摘要

Comparison of organic markets and understanding of their functioning is dependent on the development of valid, reliable, and precise dimensions and scales. Section 2 suggests a frame for comparison. Section 3 gives an elaboration of a framework for understanding of the dynamics in organic markets. This section could be used for developing relevant categories to describe the state of organics in processing, wholesaling, retailing and other dimensions. Section 4 illustrates that there is no common EU organic market, but that there are several individual markets that are not interconnected. Further, this section illustrates severe limitations in using cross-country comparisons as a base for policy recommendations.