Local Marketing of Organic Food by Certified Organic Processors, Manufacturers, and Distributors

Local organic food is garnering new interest. Using new data from a national survey of certified organic intermediaries, we examine local markets for organic food and assess which firms are likely to market locally. Approximately 25% of survey respondents primarily market their products locally, and 15% of the value of organic food (at the intermediate level) is sold locally. Larger firms are less likely to market locally, firms that handle a greater share of organic products are more likely to market locally, and the likelihood of marketing locally is lower the longer a firm has been certified organic