Tesco brings down prices for organic produce

Tesco has cut the prices of organic produce since demand has been slowing as a result of the credit crunch. In the last twelve weeks demand for organic fruit fell by 18 %, for organic salad by 3 % and for vegetables by 1 %. Demand for organic produce across all retailers has fallen by 8.1% over the same period of time, according to retail analysts TNS. The retailer has cut the prices of organic lines by an average of 15 % to 20 %. Organic potatoes, asparagus, avocados and peppers are selling for not much more than the price of their standard equivalents now, reports Manchester Evening News. Tesco explained the cost of popular organic vegetable and salad lines were now at levels last seen almost a decade ago. According to Tesco, much of the price fall was due to an increase in British produce. Last year most organic produce was imported from Europe and America after widespread flooding had affected the local yield. Last year's organic harvest had been the poorest in British farming history and many farmers were still counting the cost of a much lower yield, organic produce buyer Jonathan Corbett stated. He continued that shoppers had told them that they intended to buy organic produce, but they wanted to pay prices closer to the standard equivalent.