LEAVENWORTH — Against many obstacles, the market for organic fruits and vegetables continues to grow at an unprecedented rate in the United States and Europe. Now, it’s up to growers and distributors to provide a consistent supply at reasonable prices to keep up with the demand.

That was the take-home message during early sessions of the International Organic Fruit Research Symposium at the Icicle Inn in Leavenworth. The second-annual gathering of about 130 organic fruit research professionals, growers and suppliers from throughout the world was held Monday through Thursday.

Central Washington is one of the nation’s largest producers of organic fruit. Chelan County is one of the nation’s largest producers of cherries and pears, much of it organic. Organic production of apples, cherries and other crops in the Columbia Basin has exploded in recent years, said David Granatstein, Washington State University Tree Fruit Research Center organic program director and director of the conference.

Organic fruit and produce sales in the U.S. added up to nearly $12 billion last year, up from $7.4 billion in 2007. The figure was barely over $1 billion in 2000, said Don Harris, owner of Harris Consulting Solutions. Harris was the chief produce executive of Wild Oats Markets before it merged with Whole Foods Inc. in 2007, now the nation’s largest supplier of natural foods.

Since 2007, organic produce sales have grown about 9 percent a year compared to 4 percent a year for conventionally-grown produce, Harris said. No one expected that kind of increase a few years ago, he said.

“Every retailer would love to have 9 percent annual growth. This surely shows that organics are here to stay,” said Harris. The number of organic items to be found in most grocery stores has jumped from about 30 items to 100 items in that same period. More than 10 percent of the items in the produce aisle are now organic. Organic items now make up 5.5 percent of produce sales.

That may still seem like a small amount, but there is much opportunity for continued growth, he said.

“Consumers have been listening. They’re starting to look at organic foods not as something new, but as an alternative that offers health benefits and ecological benefits,” he said. Organics benefit from a “halo effect,” he said, in that consumers think organics offer life qualities perhaps more than they really do. That’s a very good thing.

Franco Weibel of the Research Institute or Organic Agriculture in Switzerland said organic fruit production and sales continue to grow in many European countries, especially in Germany and France, but producers have an ongoing battle with cost of farming increases and competition from countries that have lower production costs. The difference in cost at the store between organic and conventionally-grown fruit, as a result, has increased, he said.

Still, organic sales grew by 9.5 percent between 2009 and 2010, Weibel said of northern Europe.

In the past, stores have kept organic items off to themselves because they’ve been much more expensive, said Harris about U.S. retail stores. But prices have become more similar because of increased demand and production. Stores are starting to advertise organic items for the first time. Some stores, like Safeway, where Harris worked for 30 years, have started their own branded line of organic products.

“Retailers are starting to realize they can get a lot more trials when supply allows them to promote organics and sell them at the same price as conventional produce,” he said.

Once consumers taste organically grown fruit and produce, they’re likely to try them again because they taste better, he said.

Harris said the opportunities for organic sales to grow are great, especially for organic fruit. Increased production of best selling organic items is key so there is a consistent supply, he said. That has to be done, however, without sacrifice of quality, taste and food safety.

“We want to keep that ‘halo effect’ that organics have,” he said.

Rick Steigmeyer: 664-7151

steigmeyer@wenatcheeworld.com