Organic yoghurt in Germany

Abstract

In Germany in 2016, the market share of organic milk products was 4.3% of the whole milk products market, slightly lower than the average of all organic products (5%). A total of 47,300 tons of organic yoghurt was produced in Germany in 2016. The market share of organic natural (unflavored) yoghurt is 7.3% of the whole German natural yoghurt market. Whereas in the conventional value chain, exports are very important (nearly half of the production volume), imports are necessary in the organic sector. One of the major reasons why German organic milk production has continuously grown in recent years is that German producers of organic cow milk can rely on high and stable prices compared to fluctuating and often low prices of the conventional produce. Organic yoghurt is supplied to consumers through all kinds of distribution channels. In terms of volume, around 74% of the organic yoghurt is distributed by conventional retailers, followed by organic specialized retail stores. Another distribution channel is direct selling from on-farm dairies to consumers, but reliable data on the size of this channel is lacking. In terms of sustainability performance, organic yoghurt performs better than its reference for all the economic and social indicators we could assess. It also consumes less water. Regarding the carbon footprint of organic yoghurt production, the picture is today unclear. These environmental assessments are more favourable to organic yoghurt when indicators are expressed on a per hectare (rather than per ton) basis.