Brazil's Ministry of Agricultural Development (MDA) has announced the country's market for organic products is growing at an annual rate of 15-20%, media organization Agencia Brasil reported.

The Brazilian organic market moves around BRL500 million (US$240 million) worth of products each year and is supplied by around 90,000 farmers, of which about 85% are agricultural families.

MDA added value director Arnoldo de Campos made the comments during the seminar 'Organic and Sustainable Brazil in Rio de Janeiro this week.

"Thanks to the growth of the economy we have a significant growth in the middle class, and when people have more income they are more demanding," he was quoted as saying.

"Concerns about health, and food that is healthy and pesticide free, are intensified in society.

"This ends up being a good opportunity for family farmers, who have more of a vocation in this type of agricultural system."

De Campos has no doubt the trend for 'green' products will continue to rise.

"The supermarket chains want to increase the supply of organic products because their customers are demanding it," he told seminar participants.

"The food industry wants more vendors with this characteristic. The restaurants, bars and hotels increasingly want to have a part of their menus cater to customers who consume organic products."

www.freshfruitportal.com