Announcing new figures published on Wednesday, the Soil Association has said the organic market, which returned to growth earlier this year after a five year dip, has strengthened further in recent months.

The reversal of fortunes for the organic sector was announced by the certification body in March, however, figures show the area under organic production continued to fall in 2013.

On Wednesday (24^th Sept), Soil Association spokesperson Mike Watkins claimed that organics had outperformed non-organic sales in supermarkets. Presenting at the Soil Association annual market briefing, Watkins said the organic grocery market grew +3.2% in the four weeks to 16 August 2014, compared with a fall in the non-organic grocery market of -0.9% in the same period.

In the longer-term, organic sales have grown at +1.2% over the year to 16 August 2014, compared with a stagnant non-organic market. Even so, the sector still accounts for just 1.3 percent of the UK's £96 billion food and drink market.

Elsewhere in Europe, the organic sector is much larger; in Germany, where over 6 percent of land is under organic production, farmers still cannot keep up with consumer demand for organic products. The organic market in France – Europe's second largest after Germany – grew +9% to €4.5 billion (£3.5bn) in value in 2013.

Speaking at the market briefing, Rob Sexton, the Association's chief executive of Certification said "The UK's organic market is fast improving. In fact, on top of the positive Nielsen data, our own figures show that Soil Association symbol holders are reporting an increase of +8% in organic sales year on year [And an 11% increase since April 2014.]

"Consumers have evidence to help them feel confident about what they buy, in the wake of the Newcastle University report showing how we farm absolutely does impact on the quality of the food we eat. We are also seeing supermarkets and brands making more space for organic on shelves and investing more in innovation and marketing. Combined together, all these indicators reveal the growing confidence in the organic market is well justified."

The figures were released during the Soil Association's Organic September campaign. The group said organic food is becoming more widely available in the food service industry, with more caterers now supporting organic, facilitated by the Soil Association's Catering Mark.