If the number of conversions in organic farming stagnates, the AB label continues to convince.
by Laure Gasparotto
This is a paradox that challenges. On the one hand, the ecological emergency is brandished everywhere in the hope of saving the planet. On the other, organic stagnates, both on supply and on demand, after years of good increase. For the winemakers, working in “AB” is indeed binding: do not use pesticides three years of row in order to obtain the label; Never derogate, even once, from the heavy specifications to keep it. Even if it means losing a lot of harvests.
In 2012, some 40,000 hectares of French vineyards were certified organic, 39.7 % more than the previous year. Today we are at 90,000 hectares, more than double, which represents almost 20 % of the French vineyard. It is worse than the two flagship countries -26 % for Spain and 25 % for Italy -, but much better than organic in agriculture in general in France, where only 10 is listed , 3 % of the land exploited in organic, according to the organic agency.
Nevertheless, if we take into account, in addition to the labeled vines, those which are being conversion, or 70,000 hectares, one ends up to a total, much higher, of 160,000 hectares led in organic in 2021 , In France. The next three years will therefore be decisive to assess whether the winegrowers will go as far as certification or if they will abandon along the way.
inflation penalizes AB bottles
Indeed, for two years, fewer and fewer areas are embarking on the AB label race. In 2021, 1,510 winegrowers began a conversion. They were 222 more the previous year. Even more worrying, last year, 448 winegrowers stopped organic. They were 315 in 2021 and 188 in 2020. A certain discouragement floats in the middle.
However, the results are disparate. In the South Rhône, in Provence or Corsica, organic is very present, favored by a dry and sunny climate, rampart against parasites and diseases. This is how two Mediterranean appellations, Calvi (Haute-Corse) and Baux-de-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône), can be proud, in 2023, to have all of their organic winegrowers.
Elsewhere, especially in temperate climate, it’s another story. BIO occupies 20 % of the vines of Burgundy-Franche-Comté, which is in the national average. However, in Côte-d’Or, the number of certifications obtained in 2022 fell halfway compared to 2021. “Even if the progression of bio in Burgundy is done in jolts, the substantive trend remains positive,” explains Emmanuel Giboulot, president of the Viticulture Bio de Burgundy commission. In Champagne, conversions remain upwards, but organic still camps on a modest 8 %.
You have 43.54% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.