Sales of organic food have seen their first fall in almost 20 years.

UK consumers look like they are falling out of love with organic food as sales for 2009 fell by almost 13% to £1.84 billion.

Until 2008 annual sales of organic food had experienced a meteoric rise and reached a height of £2.113bn in 2009. The Soil Association dismisses suggestions that organic food is on its way out. It says that despite the toughest economic climate for 20 years, there is a clear sign of increasing confidence amongst consumers and based on early sales there looks to be a “modest market expansion in 2010”.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) said it was not shocked by the drop in organic sales. A spokesperson said: “It is not a surprise to hear that there has been a 12.9% decline in sales or organic food as times have been hard for some of our organic members throughout the recession, but the increased confidence among consumers is pleasing to hear.

“The essential thing to do now is to get the messaging right with and re-grow the British Organic sector with the increased consumer confidence.”

Organic milk and organic baby food were some of the few categories to experience a rise in sales last year with increases of 1% and 20.8% respectively. Meanwhile the three biggest categories of organic produce – dairy, fruit and vegetable and meat – saw falls of 6.5%, 14.8% and 22.7% respectively.

Peter Melchett, Policy Director at the Soil Association, is confident that the organic food market will turn around its fortunes: “It has been a tough year for the organic market, but we have seen businesses that are most committed to communicate the many, real benefits of organic food and farming to the public perform best.

“We are confident that the organic market, having weathered the recession, will return to growth.”

Last year the Food Standards Agency published a report which dismissed the nutritional benefits of organic food claiming that there is “no additional health benefits” compared with conventionally produced food.

Dr Dangour, the principal author of the report commented: “A small number of differences in nutrient content were found to exist between organically and conventionally produced crops and livestock, but these are unlikely to be of any public health relevance. Our review indicates that there is currently no evidence to support the selection or organically over conventionally produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority.”

On its website, the Food Standards Agency said that while it recognises the role that organic food can play in providing choice for consumers, it is neither for nor against the sector, it simply asserts that its interest lies in providing accurate information to support consumer choice.