Australia still has the world's largest land area under organic farming, a report has found.

The report shows that Australia has nearly 11.8 million hectares certified according to organic standards.

Argentina (3.1 million hectares) is second, with China (2.3 million hectares) third and the US (1.6 million hectares) fourth.

In total, 31 million hectares around the world are currently certified according to organic standards.

The most significant portion of global organic surface area is in Oceania (39 per cent), followed by Europe (23 per cent) and Latin America (19 per cent).

In terms of the certified organic agriculture as a proportion of all arable agricultural surface area, the Alpine countries, such as Austria with more than 14 per cent, top the statistics.

The researchers said the growth exhibited in the US, Italy and Poland has been the most noteworthy.

The study was carried out by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and the Foundation for Ecology and Farming (SOL).

The findings were presented at the 2007 BioFach World Organic Trade Fair in Nuremberg, Germany.

In addition to the certified organic arable land, nearly 62 million hectares are currently certified to organic standards for the collection of wild product, according to research by the International Trade Center (ITC).

The global market for organic produce reached a value of nearly 30bn euros in 2006, with the vast majority of products being consumed in North America and Europe, figures from market research firm Organic Monitor show.

Healthy growth rates are expected to continue in the coming years, Organic Monitor said.