Organic land covers area triple the size of London

Almost twice as many organic crops are being grown in the UK compared to a year ago and sales are the second highest in Europe, according to figures published yesterday.

The report by the Soil Association, the country's largest organic campaigning and certification body, shows the area of organic land is equivalent to three times the size of Greater London, having increased from 240,000 hectares to 458,600 hectares in the past 12 months.

Nearly 80 per cent of households buy some organic food, spending £920m, which is more than any other European country apart from Germany.

The data is revealed in the Soil Association's Organic Food and Farming Report 2002, the most comprehensive survey of the organic market, drawing on information from organic businesses, retailers, 15,000 shoppers and government.

The figures show that there are nearly 4,000 licensed organic farms in the UK and that South-west England is home to more than a quarter of all organic farms.

Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association, said the organic industry was "one of the fastest growing areas of the UK food and drink sector".

"The majority of households now buy organic food, the leading supermarkets see organic food as a major growth area and in the last year, organic farming has been given crucial financial backing from the Government," Mr Holden said.

"The challenge ahead is to encourage consumers and retailers to increase their support for UK farmers by choosing home-produced organic food wherever possible."

The Soil Association is calling for more effort from supermarkets to honour "buy British first" policies.