THE chairman of a board which aims to grow organic sales in the UK has said he is delighted at a successful funding application.

Adrian Blackshaw, chairman of the Organic Trade Board (OTB), lives in Canon Pyon in Herefordshire and in his role promotes the benefits of organic food.

OTB. in partnership with Organic Denmark, have been awarded 10.4million Euros from the EU to promote the organic food and drink sector.

The OTB bid was successful as the campaign will focus on growing retail sales, increasing employment in organic agriculture and raising awareness of the benefits of organic food and drink- 70 percent of the fund will be spent in the UK.

Mr Blackshaw said: "We are delighted to have won this bid and to be able to share best practice with our partner, Organic Denmark.

"The aim of the campaign, estimated to be the largest international organic campaign, is to grow the organic sector and increase total annual spend on organic. "Given the worldwide growth in organics, we are excited at the export potential for UK producers and brand owners."

The UK organic market grew by 5.6 percent in 2016, is worth £1.4billion per annum and represents 1.8 percent of total grocery sales.

In contrast, the non-organic sector grew by 0.6 percent last year.

But Mr Blackshaw said that despite this encouraging growth, the UK lag behind other countries showing dynamic organic growth – Denmark was up 18 percent in the second half of 2016, representing 10 percent of all retail food sales.

The campaign has been match funded by 60 OTB member companies, which account for 70 percent of the UK organic market, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, OMSCo, major brands such as Doves Farm Foods and Rachel’s, plus independent retailers and wholesalers.

OTB members have pledged £340k per year. The total fund will be £1.7m per year.