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Is Organic Biting Into Retails?

Supermarket produce executives might want to check their enthusiasm for closing the price gap between conventional and organic produce. A study appearing in the journal Agribusiness found that organic apples from Washington state only earned a 7.4% profit margin at retail, compared to 75.3% for the conventional ones. Don't expect sympathy from the growers who were studied. They reported having more

Supermarket produce executives might want to check their enthusiasm for closing the price gap between conventional and organic produce. A study appearing in the journal Agribusiness found that organic apples from Washington state only earned a 7.4% profit margin at retail, compared to 75.3% for the conventional ones.

Don't expect sympathy from the growers who were studied. They reported having more market pull and higher profit margins than their nonorganic competition.

Researchers also found that the higher payout for organics on the wholesale side is enticing more growers to switch over. The article predicts that the price gap between organic and conventional could soon be nonexistent.

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