UK: Organic lines cut by a third as sales fall

London / UK. (div) Despite claiming to support the recovery of the organic segment, Britain´s supermarkets have actually recently reduced by a third the range of organic products on their shelves, according to a new report. Data compiled for The Grocer show that Tesco has cut the number of organic lines by 30 percent, while Asda has reduced its range by 35 percent. According to the magazine this as a consequence of the decreasing sales in organic foods in time of economic downturn. «When shoppers buy less of a particular category, we will stock less – this is our normal policy», an Asda spokesman said. While Tesco said that, despite the fall in consumers´ organic purchases, they continued to provide a ample organic range at «great» prices. However, Soil Association director Peter Melchett believes that consumers who turned away from organics because of the economic difficulties are now returning. Actually, Soil Association´s Organic Market Report 2009 highlighted a rise in sales of organic milk, cheese, some meat and poultry – despite a sharp fall in certain products such as fruit, bread, bakery products, soft drinks and prepared food.