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Looking East Looking West: Organic and Quality Food Marketing in Asia and Europe

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:49:00 +0200

The rapidly growing demand for organic and quality food in Europe imposes new challenges on competing food value chains. Europe, as the biggest worldwide food importer, attracts many developing and developed countries in Asia. Prospering Chinese and Thai food markets offer new opportunities for European operators. Wealthy and informed consumers on both continents search for trustworthy high quality food products. Farmers, operators and retailers from distant cultures are coping with different standards, facing the ever increasing necessity for mutual understanding. This publication is the output of Bean-Quorum an European funded Asia-Link project. Bean-Quorum represents a consolidated network of researchers working together with the business sector and NGOs to enhance European Asian understanding about organic and quality food.This book describes global trends in organic and quality food trade and connects them with recent developments in Asian and European market structures. Selected case studies illustrate the impact of organic and quality food production on topics ranging from sustainable rural development, to the potential of exotic new plant varieties to purchase decisions of European or Asian retail managers. Selected European markets are mirrored by the situation in Chinese and Thai markets. Finally, environmental issues concerning global trade of quality food are addressed.

More information

Contact

Dr. Maurizio Canavari
Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna
Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Engineering
40127 Bologna, Italy
E-mail

Quote

Haas, Rainer, Maurizio Canavari, Bill Slee, Chen Tong and Bundit Anurugsa (Eds.) (2010) Looking east looking west: organic and quality food marketing in Asia and Europe:Wageningen Academic Publishers
240 pages, ISBN: 978-90-8686-095-1, Price (€): 46.00 (excluding VAT); Price ($): 69.00

November 17-20, 2010: BIO & ECO Expo 2010 in Sofia, Bulgaria

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:15:00 +0200

Organizers: Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Via Expo

The BIO & ECO EXPO 2010 provides a wide range of natural and organic products, sustainable technologies, services, information and practical advice. It will be ideal information destination, offering sustainable solutions for conscious consumers and responsible businesses. The branches of the exhibition include: Organic products: food, raw material, fruit, vegetables, delicatessen, spices, meat, milk, dairy products, baked products, confectionery, drinks; Natural and Organic cosmetics; Natural & Organic medical products; Other natural products: gifts, accessories, furniture, office supplies, nutritional supplements and fitness products, etc.; Natural textiles and clothing; organic agriculture: supplies and technologies; Bio Hotels & Restaurants / Eco Tourism; Organic farms; Certified companies and institutions; Services and consultancy for the organic production; Ministries, associations and media; specialized literature. The participating companies will have the opportunity for setting up new business contacts and to start a fruitful future partnership with importers, exporters, wholesalers and retailers of organic food and beverages, food additives, herbs, spices; natural and organic cosmetics; agricultural producers; owners and managers of hotels and restaurants; catering companies; gourmet specialists; consulting companies; etc.

www.viaexpo.com

February 16-19, 2011: BioFach 2011 in Nürnberg, Germany

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:47:00 +0200

More information

BioFach.de/en: Homepage BioFach
Organic-World.net: Presentations related to organic farming world-wide and in Europe, presented at BioFach 2010

Next Survey on Organic Agriculture World-wide

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:15:00 +0200

The data will be ready in February 2011 and presented at BioFach 2011 in Nürnberg, Germany. Partners

The annual survey on organic agriculture world-wide is carried out by FiBL and IFOAM. FiBL is carrying our the overall survey; IFOAM is in charge of the data from sub-Saharan Africa and supports the data collection in South America through its Latin American office. Furthermore data collection activities are now beginning to be coordinated in Asia. Ruta, the Regional Unit for Technical Assistance in Central America has agreed to carry out the data collection for the eight countries where it is active. Furthermore the Agronomic Institute of BARI IAMB has supported the survey in the past years by providing data from the Mediterranean countries.

Questionnaire Under the SECO/ITC project 'Global Information System for Organic Production and Market Data' a questionnaire was developed with a classification for land use and crops (very much based on the questionnaire which Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Commission, uses) as well as manufactured products. The data types collected include area, production, domestic market and trade (export and imports). The questionnaire was programmed by flexinfo, a company that is specialised in data integration. Flexinfo has also programmed the Bioglobal database, in which the data are stored.

More information

TP Organics: Report from the Stakeholder Forum in July

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:45:00 +0200

The aim of the forum was to discuss organic research in the context of EU Research Framework Programmes, SME involvement in research, high priority topics in organic food and farming, and the development of the Implementation Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming. In her presentation “Organic Research Topics in EU Research Framework Programmes,” Cristina Micheloni from the Italian Association of Organic Agriculture (AIAB) emphasised the need for more research in organic food and farming, as organic farming provides not only high quality food, but also delivers many public goods such as clean water and air, biodiversity, and healthy soil. Elke Denys from Bioforum presented the results of a study conducted among organic processors in Belgium, carried out by BioForum. The study confirms the difficulties of SMEs involvement in research and the lack of financing. Susanne Padel, the TP Organics Scientific Coordinator, introduced the upcoming work of TP Organics. Otto Schmid from the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) presented priority research topics in organic food and farming for the coming years. The Stakeholder Forum provided fruitful discussions, the outcome of which will be taken into account by TP Organics for developing the Implementation Action Plan. TP Organics is planning to submit to the General-Directoral Research of the European Commission 10 to 12 high priority topics for consideration within the 2012 Work Programme of the 7th Research Framework Programme. The consultation will run from July 30 to September 12 on the TP Organics website (www.tporganics.eu). You are invited to take part in the consultation and influence the European research topics for organic food and farming. Source: Newsletter of the IFOAM EU Group, July 2010

More information

www.tporganics.eu
www.ifoam-eu.org

Germany: Updated report at the homepage of the Ministry of Agriculture

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 12:56:00 +0200

The report covers the the principles of organic farming, quality aspects, legislation, current statistics, income situation, support for organic farmers and a link link list.

More information

BMVEL.de: Organic Farming in Germany as of July 2010

January 24-26, 2011: Millésime bio 2011

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:59:00 +0200

From January 24-26, 2011, Millésime bio 2011 will take place at the Exhibition Centre in Montpellier, South of France. Millésime Bio was created in 1993 by a handful of winegrowers from Languedoc-Roussillon, members of the AIVB-LR. Their goal was to promote their products and the features of the new vintage towards the purchasers. The event grew big, however the friendly spirit remains. This spirit shows through some characteristics.

Link

Millesime-Bio.com: Homepage of the Millésime bio

Brazil: Good Potential for Exports

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:46:00 +0200

Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America and with its 190 million inhabitants is an aspiring consumer market with great potential – also for organic products. The prospects of getting Brazil and its multicultural society even more interested in organic and natural products than at present are extremely good. Two large events in the coming years, the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, are being planned with a high standard of sustainability and environmental friendliness. This makes the Brazilian market for export-orientated European organic companies especially interesting at the moment. But the domestic market also has something to offer: Brazil has its own production and more than 930,000 hectares of fully converted organic farming land. In addition, large areas are farmed under natural conditions or are nature conservation areas/wild collection. The family structure of small farms is particularly suitable for organic farming methods. The governments of individual federal states and the national government President Lula da Silva have also recognized this. The government promotes organic agriculture as the most sustainable form of agriculture, and not only through the organic legislation that came into force in 2009: about 7,000 family farms are included in programmes promoting organic farming. Brazil’s exports of organic products are developing promisingly. The marketing project OrganicsBrasil almost trebled the export volume of its now 74 member companies from 15 to 44.3 million US Dollars in the period from 2006 to 2009. OrganicsBrasil exhibits at several international events and promotes a wide variety of locally produced organic products and finished products from drinks and snacks to natural cosmetics and natural textiles. Latin America’s biggest economy has, however, also a demand for imported organic products. BioFach América Latina and ExpoSustentat From November 3-5, 2010, BioFach América Latina and ExpoSustentat again invite the sector to the international get-together in the Transamérica Expo Center in São Paulo. In 2009, trade visitors from 27 countries were delighted with the new products from the 311 exhibitors and to get the latest updates on trends and current developments in the organic sector at the accompanying congress, according to Nürnberg Messe. Source: Organic-Market.info: BioFach América Latina and ExpoSustentat 2010

More information

Organic-Market.info: BioFach América Latina and ExpoSustentat 2010
OrganicsBrasil.org: Homepage of OrganicsBrasil
OrganicWorld.net: Brazil
Organic-World.net: Latin America

November 3-5, 2010: BioFach América Latina and ExpoSustentat 2010

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:35:00 +0200

The Brazilian government has recognized the advantages of organic farming and is backing the sound, stable development of the organic sector among others through its support for trade fair participations.

BioFach America Latina and ExpoSustentat therefore provide the platform at exactly the right time.

The agricultural exports nation Brazil can look back on a successful organic product history and is consistently following the path towards promoting both the domestic market as well as exports. Source: BioFach Homepage www.biofach.de

More information

www.biofach-americalatina.com.br

Common Agricultural Policy: Organic farming can deliver best solutions to meet public demands

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 17:07:00 +0200

“We have to prioritise sustainable food and farming systems that deliver public goods such as diverse landscapes and the maintenance of ecosystem services such as fertile soils and clean water while ensuring a fair income for farmers,” underlines Prof. Urs Niggli, Director of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, speaker at the Commission conference. “Single measures are not an answer to the complex demands of society and the future challenges we are facing. Therefore, we call on Commissioner Ciolos to invest in system approaches such as organic farming that deliver on several areas of sustainability. Organic farming performs well on climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity, the delivery of clean water and stable soil, while producing high-quality food and should therefore be prioritised in all CAP measures.“ “On the occasion of the CAP conference and the official launch by the Commission of the new European organic logo by Commissioner Ciolos, we welcome the Commission’s commitment towards organic food and farming and thus hope and expect that organic systems will be given priority in the future CAP,” comments Christopher Stopes, President of the EU Group of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM EU Group). “The only fair deal is to spend taxpayer’s money through the CAP in a way that best serves the public interest whilst ensuring sustainable land use and socio-economic stability. The CAP needs to be seriously re-shaped to meet these demands and a well-regulated organic food system is an excellent working model!” Source: Citizens want a CAP that targets sustainability. Organic farming can deliver best solutions to meet public demands. Press release of the IFOAM EU Group of July 19, 2010

Further information

Contact

IFOAM EU Group
Brussels
Tel + 32-2-280 12 23
Fax +32-2-735 73 81
info@ifoam-eu.org
www.ifoam-eu.org

Links and documents

EC.Europa.eu: The CAP post 2013", Conference on the public debate, Brussels, 19-20 July 2010
The video recording of the conference as well as speeches and slide shows for download will be available shortly.
EC.Europa.eu: Homepage of Agricultural Commissioner Dacian Ciolos
EC.Europa.eu: Commissioner Cioloş: "I want a strong, efficient and balanced Common Agriculture Policy for the future"
IFOAM-EU.org: Citizens want a CAP that targets sustainability. Organic farming can deliver best solutions to meet public demands. Press release of the IFOAM EU Group of July 19, 2010
IFOAM-EU.org: CAP post 2013 - Smart change or business as usual”, Position Paper of the IFOAM EU group, 2010
IFOAM-EU.org: Proposal for a new EU Common Agricultural Policy, Common position paper Birdlife, EEB, EFNCP, WWF and IFOAM EU Group, 2009
ARC2020.eu: The Agricultural and Rural Convention (ARC) process aims to give civil society a strong voice and to prepare a powerful common message for a new European agricultural and rural policy. The ARC complements and enhances the “Your Ideas Matter” initiative launched by the European Commission on 12 April 2010
IFOAM-EU.org: Homepage of the IFOAM EU Group, which represents more than 300 member organisations of IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) in the EU-27, the EU accession countries and EFTA. Member organisations include: consumer, farmer and processor associations; research, education and advisory organisations; certification bodies and commercial organic companies.

GOMA: Second Newsletter Published

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:18:00 +0200

This issue provides updates on the latest equivalence news e.g US/EU and Canada/EU, and it features articles on the GOMA's regional initiative on Asia, a novel platform for certification bodies in Asia, the forthcoming draft of the Central American Regional Standards, Australia's new and efficient approach to equivalence based on the concept of "equally reliable systems" - and more.

More information

GOMA-Organic.org: Homepage of the GOMA püroject
GOMA-Organic.org: Harmonization and Equivalence, Issue 2

Japan: Now on the EU List of Third Countries

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:40:00 +0200

Competent authorities are the Labelling and Standards Division, Food Safety and Consumer Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Food and Agricultural Materials Inspection Center FAMIC. The following control bodies have been approved:

Hyogo prefectural Organic Agriculture Society (HOAS), www.hyoyuken.org
AFAS Certification Center Co., Ltd, www.afasseq.com
NPO Kagoshima Organic Agriculture Association, www.koaa.or.jp
Center of Japan Organic Farmers Group, www.yu-ki.or.jp
Japan Organic & Natural Foods Association, http://jona-japan.org/organic
Ecocert-QAI Japan Ltd, http://ecocert.qai.jp
Japan Certification Services, Inc., www.pure-foods.co.jp
OCIA Japan, www.ocia-jp.com
Overseas Merchandise Inspection Co., Ltd, www.omicnet.com/index.html.en
Organic Farming Promotion Association, www3.ocn.ne.jp/~yusuikyo
ASAC Stands for Axis’ System for Auditing and Certification and Association for Sustainable Agricultural Certification, www.axis-asac.net
Environmentally Friendly Rice Network, www.epfnetwork.org/okome
Ooita Prefecture Organic Agricultural Research Center, www.d-b.ne.jp/oitayuki

The other approved countries are Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Costa Rica, Israel, India, and Switzerland. As with six other countries on the list, the Commission, according to the amended regulation, “ has examined on-the-spot the rules of production and the control measures actually applied in Japan, as provided for in Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.” The exception to this process is Switzerland, whose organic regulatory program was declared equivalent under an general trade agreement between the EU and Switzerland for trade in agricultural products. According to the 2010 survey on organic agriculture world-wide, 9'092 hectares of agricultrual land were managed organically by 3'380 producers. This constituted 0.23 percent of the agricultural land. It should be noted though that the figure on the organic land is not based on data provided by the certifiers but was gained by multiplying the number of organic farms (provided by MAFF) with the general average farm size in the country.

More information

Document

EUR-Lex.Europa.eu: Commission Regulation (EU) No 471/2010 of 31 May 2010 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008, as regards the list of third countries from which certain agricultural products obtained by organic production must originate to be marketed within the Union Text with EEA relevance
PDF version

France: The Organic Sector Continues to Grow in 2009

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:34:00 +0200

From 1994 to 2009, the organic farming sector in France has demonstrated consistent growth. During this period, the number of organic farms increased 457 percent and land under organic cultivation increased by 490 percent. Recent data published by Agence Bio shows that in 2009, 3'769 new farms converted to organic farming and in total there were 16'446 organic farms - an increase of 23.7 percent from 2008. Organic land totalled 677'513 hectares (+16 percent from 2008 - the figure includes data from the French overseas departments). In late 2009, the share of organic farms was estimated at 3.14 percent of all French farms and the organically managed agricultural land was 2.5 percent of the utilized agricultural area. France has, with a population of over 60 million, one of the largest food markets of Europe. In 2009, the market share of organic products reached 1.9 percent of the total food sales. From 2005 to 2009, the turnover of organic food sales has almost doubled from 1.6 billion to 3 billion Euros in just four years. Seventy-five percent of French households shop once a week at a supermarket.

More information

Links and documents

AgenceBio.fr: Dossier de presse 2010
AgenceBio.fr: Baromètre de consommation et de perception des produits biologique en France 2009
GAIN.FAS.USDA.gov: French Organic Market 2009

Slovakia: Strong Growth in Organic Farm Numbers and Good Potential for Processing

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:01:00 +0200

Organic farming in Slovakia is still heavily export-oriented. Many farms that converted to organic farming in the 1990s had over 600 hectares and most of them were arable farms. Recently the number of organic farms grew explosively, with smaller farms emerging in the mountains. Although the lack of domestic processing opportunities is still a bottleneck in Slovakia’s organic sector development, an increasing amount of processing is being done inside the country. The development of organic farming in Slovakia began in 1991 with a group of 37 large farms converting simultaneously. The next major expansion came in the late 1990s with an increase to 50'000 hectares in 1998 managed by 80 companies. After the accession to the European Union, organic area increased within a few years to 144'219 hectares in 2009, which is 7.5 percent of the agricultural land and 3.4 percent of arable land (Naturalis, 2009). The number of organic farms in Slovakia (463) has grown exponentially since 2004. New organic farms emerged mainly in the mountainous Eastern half of Slovakia. Many of these farms keep livestock with the number of organic cows increasing by 50 percent annually between 2003 and 2008. Today, 68 percent of organic farms keep organically certified livestock. While the average farm size in the mid-1990s was over 600 hectares, it decreased to 315 h hectares (with 100 ha of arable land) by 2009. The largest organic farms have several thousand hectares each, producing mainly wheat, maize, barley (also malt barley), and sunflower. In horticulture, medicinal herbs play a role (e.g. lemon balm, camomile, and mint) as well as asparagus and other vegetables, which are cultivated for baby food. From its inception, organic farming in Slovakia has been mainly export-oriented. Grains, pulses, and medicinal herbs were exported unprocessed to the EU countries and Switzerland. Export is still an important engine for organic sector development. Slovakia is popular with organic processors in Europe as it produces large, homogeneous quantities due to the dominance of large farms. With only one authorised inspection body (Naturalis), the organic control and certification system is transparent. Short distances to the main organic markets in Europe are another advantage of the country. The organic sector in Slovakia has great potential to develop further. While domestic demand for organic food is on the rise, organic milk is currently bottled abroad and imported back into the country. Slovak organic processors already produce various pastas and dairy products, and family-run dairy processing on mountain farms for an exigent domestic market sector is expected to mature. Source: Bianca Lieske and Christoph Arndt, both EkoConnect e.V. (2010): Slovakia: Explosive growth in organic farm numbers and good potential for processing. In: Information Letter for Organic Agriculture of Central and Eastern Europe. No 26, July 2010

More information

Ekoconnect.org: Homepage of Ekoconnect
Ekoconnect.org: Information letters at the Ekoconnect homepage
Organic-World.net: European organic farming statistics

Call for Papers Announced for 3rd ISOFAR Scientific Conference

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:58:00 +0200

The Organic World Congress (OWC), organised every three years, is the space where the organic movement comes to meet, exchange experiences, and develop ideas and strategies for the development and growth of organic agriculture everywhere. While the IFOAM conference focuses mainly on practical issues of the improvement of the organic sector, ISOFAR seeks to promote and encourage a scientific approach to the various challenges in organic agriculture. The 3rd ISOFAR Scientific Conference at the 17th IFOAM Organic World Congress will be held in the Republic of Korea from September 28, 2011 to October 1, 2011. ISOFAR welcomes papers on all aspects of organic agriculture and particularly calls for the submission of cross-disciplinary papers and issues related to the agricultural situation in Asia. Papers are due by November 30, 2010. For complete conference information and to submit papers, please visit the websites listed below.

Further information

Contacts

General information: paper@kowc2011.org

Call for Papers Announced for 17th IFOAM Organic World Congress 2011

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:46:00 +0200

The Organic World Congress (OWC), organized every three years, is the space where the organic movement comes to meet, exchange experiences, and develop ideas and strategies for the development and growth of organic agriculture everywhere. The 17th IFOAM Organic World Congress will be held in the Republic of Korea from September 26, 2011 to October 5, 2011. The organisers of the Congress are particularly interested in submissions featuring development, innovation, and business models that enhance the contribution and livelihoods of small-holders. Also important are organic agriculture and water conservation, short supply chains, and collaboration between organic movements and local governments. Papers are due by November 30, 2010. For complete conference information and to submit papers, please visit the websites listed below.

Further information

Contact

General information: paper@kowc2011.org

New Publication on Organic Guarantee Systems

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:18:00 +0200

The Technical Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission for Organic Agriculture (ICOA) and the Hemispheric Organic Agriculture Program (PHAO) of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) are pleased to announce the publication of the book, Sistemas de Garantía para Productos Orgánicos en los Mercados Locales y Nacionales. This publication discusses four of the models of guarantee systems for the certification of organic products that currently exist.

Public and semi-public certification in Spain
Argentina’s certification model, which operates via the producer’s association
Participatory guarantee systems (PGS) in Brazil
Third-party certification

These systems can contribute to the development of local and national markets of organic products in Latin and Central America, the chief objective of this joint effort by the PHAO and ICOA. A full-text version of the document is available on the IICA and ICOA website, where it can be viewed and downloaded free of charge.

More information

Contact

Pedro Cussianovich
IICA
E-mail Pedro.cussianovich@iica.int

Link to document

WebIICA.IICA.ac.cr: Sistemas de Garantía para Productos Orgánicos en los Mercados Locales y Nacionales

Germany: Increase in organic area and operators in 2009

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:28:00 +0200

According to the ministry, 947'115 hectares of organic agricultural land were under organic management in 2009. Germany therefore holds third place in Europe after Spain and Italy for agricultural land under organic management.There were 21'047organic farms constituting 5.6 percent of all farms in the country. In total, 31'295 enterprises (producers, processors, importers, and traders) were active in the organic sector in 2009. Compared with 2008, the following growth rates were achieved:

Organic agricultural land: + 4.3 percent
Organic producers:+ 6.2 percent
Organic processors: +5.7
Importers: +15.8 percent
Processors/importerrs: +7.7 percent
Traders: +21 percent

More information

BMVEL.de: Ökologischer Landbau im Jahr 2009 weiter gewachsen. Press release of July 5, 2010 at the homepage of the German ministry of agriculture
BOELW.de: Öko-Landbau wächst stabil weiter. Regionale Unterschiede belegen die Bedeutung der Politik. Press release of the Federation of the German Organic Food Industry BOELW of July 6, 2010
Organic-World.net: Germany

CORE Organic II call pre-announcement

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:28:00 +0200

Information on the CORE Organic II research priorities for this call, expected funding from each partner country, and the criteria for participation, is available at the CORE Organic II website at www.coreorganic2.org. CORE Organic II builds on the outcome of the first CORE Organic - successfully completed in 2007 - with the aim of building an effective and sustainable transnational research programme. CORE Organic's goal is to identify common research priorities for the organic sector where a transnational approach gives added value, launch at least two transnational calls, initiate research projects, organize project monitoring and dissemination of results, and to consider funding models.

Further Information

Contacts

Ulla Bertelsen, ICROFS, International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems, E-Mail icrofs@icrofs.org

EU logo: New EU labelling rules including new EU organic logo come into force on 1 July

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0200

The new EU rules on organic food labelling including the requirement to display the new EU organic logo, entered into force on 1 July, 2010. The so-called “Euro-Leaf” will now be obligatory on pre-packaged organic food products that have been produced in any of EU Member States and meet the necessary standards. Other private, regional or national logos will continue to appear alongside the EU label. The logo stays optional for non-packed and imported organic products. In addition to the logo, the new labelling rules also include the compulsory indications of place of farming of the products' ingredients and code number of the body that had been in charge of the controls.Operators have a two-year transition period to comply with these new labeling rules. Another change is the introduction of EU rules for organic aquaculture for the first time.

More information

EC.Europa.eu: New EU labelling rules including new EU organic logo come into force on 1 July-. Press release of June 30, 2010

European Union: Analysis of the Organic Sector

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:37:00 +0200

According to this report, the organic sector in the EU amounted to an estimated 7.6 million hectares in 2008, this is 4.3 of the agricultural area the 27 EU countries (EU-27). In the period 2000-2008, the average annual rate of growth was 6.7 percent in the EU-15 and 20 percent in the EU-12. In 2008, the area under organic agriculture is close to or higher than 9 percent of the total agricultural land in five Member States: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Austria and Sweden. In 2008, it is estimated that there were about 197 000 holdings involved in organic agriculture in the EU-27, i.e. 1.4 percent in the EU-12 and of all EU-27 holdings (0.6 percent 2.9 percent in the EU-15); Consumer food demand grows at a fast pace in the largest EU markets, yet theorganic sector does not represent more than 2 percent of total food expenses in the EU-15 in 2007. In the EU-12 organic food consumption stands at lower levels.

More information

Document and links

European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture And Rural Development (2010): An analysis of the EU organic sector. Brussels. Available at ec.europa.eu/agriculture/analysis/markets/organic_2010_en.pdf
Organic-World.net: European statistics
Organic-World.net: About Eurostat

Editor's note

According to the latest data the organic agricultural land continued to grow also in 2009, the data available for Europe are continually updated at this homepage.

Organic.Edunet Web Portal launched

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:41:00 +0200

The Organic.Edunet Web portal may be used to find:

Academic articles on organic agriculture & agroecology
School resources that can be used for teaching environmental topics
Educational scenarios to deploy within the classroom
Multimedia content (e.g. photos & videos) on the aforementioned topics

The Organic.Edunet Web Portal is currently operating in nine languages (English, Spanish, Greek, German, Russian, Hungarian, Romanian, Estonian & Norwegian) and it will be soon expanded to another six (French, Turkish, Slovenian, Bulgarian, Hindi & Dutch). It has been developed in the context of the Organic.Edunet project project.organic-edunet.eu which is funded by the European Commission's eContentPlus programme.

More information

portal.organic-edunet.eu
project.organic-edunet.eu

Latin America: Interamerican Commission on Organic Agriculture launches new homepage

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:46:00 +0200

The page also contains reports on the meetings of the authorities as well as news. The page is in Spanish. Most of the competent authorities are also in charge of collecting the data on organic agriculture in their countries and provide the data for the global survey on organic agriculture.

More information

AgriculturaOrganicaAmericas.net: Homepage of the Interamerican Commission on Organic Agriculture CIAO
Organic-World.net: Latin America

Organic wine: No processing rules in near future in the EU

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:09:00 +0200

“We greatly appreciate that Commissioner Ciolos is taking a serious interest in the important role that organic food and farming plays in the ongoing reform of food and farming policy – now of critical importance in view of the reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) post-2013” says Christopher Stopes, President of the IFOAM EU Group. “Further, the efforts made by the Commission, member states and the organic sector, and the difficulty of finding a compromise, must both be acknowledged. However, it is also a missed chance that the proposal failed to reach agreement at the last minute“. “A compromise backed by the majority of member states and the organic sector would have been possible. That would have completed the already defined rules for organic wine production with rules on organic wine processing“, added Thomas Dosch, Vice president of the IFOAM EU Group. Through reducing the list of permitted additives and processing aids, oenological practices and sulphites levels in a two step process the compromise would have still guaranteed rules in line with organic principles. It would have given a clear added value for organic consumers with organic wine labelled with the new organic EU logo“. The IFOAM EU Group urges Member States and the European Commission to find a solution together in the near future. The aim is to define rules for organic wine making in the EU that allows all traditional wine regions to produce organic wine based on credible organic wine production.

Source: IFOAM EU Group: No Organic wine processing rules in near future in the EU. Press release of June 17, 2010.

More information

Contact

IFOAM EU Group
Tel. + 32 2 280 12 23
Fax +32 2 735 73 81
info@ifoam-eu.org
www.ifoam-eu.org

About the IFOAM EU Group

The IFOAM EU Group represents more than 300 member organisations of IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) in the EU-27, the EU accession countries and EFTA. Member organisations include: consumer, farmer and processor associations; research, education and advisory organisations; certification bodies and commercial organic companies.

GOMA Project Advances: Asia makes commitments to regional cooperation on organic trade

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:50:00 +0200

The workshop was convened under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organisation FAO/ International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movments IFOAM/ United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD Global Organic Market Access (GOMA) project. Commitments were made on three approaches to facilitating trade within the Region and beyond; these are harmonization of standards, equivalence of standards and conformity assessment systems, and cooperation among the Region’s certification and accreditation bodies. The workshop decided to create a regional working group to create and oversee a plan for moving forward on the three approaches. One of the first activities will be to lay the groundwork for the development of a harmonized regional standard, which could be adopted by several or all of the Region’s countries as a harmonized standard and/or serve as the basis for equivalence of organic standards within the Region. The working group will also identify specific bilateral and multilateral opportunities for countries to assess equivalence with one another, using two Tools that were developed from past FAO/IFOAM/UNCTAD cooperation. These are the Guide for Assessing Equivalence of Organic Standards and Technical Regulations (EquiTool) and the International Requirements for Organic Certification Bodies (IROCB). An initial meeting of the working group will be held in Mumbai at BioFach India/India Organic in December 2010. The IFOAM Organic World Congress in September 2011 was identified as the target date for announcing complete achievement or substantial progress on the harmonized standard, equivalence agreements and cooperation among conformity assessment bodies.

More information

Contact

Diane Bowen
GOMA Project Manager
d.bowen@ifoam.org

The Netherlands: Increase of organic land and of organic sales in 2009

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:39:00 +0200

According to Biologica's Bio monitor 2009, the organic area went up to 51'911 hectares in 2009, an increase of about 1500 hectares compared with 2008. The organic agricultural land now accounts for 2.7 percent of the total agricultural area. Total turnover with organic products (including catering) was almost 650 million Euros and increased by 10.8 percent compared with 2008. The market share of organic food was 2.3 percent of the total food market. Table: Netherlands: Organic food sales by marketing channel. 2008 and 2009 compared, Turnover in million Euros
Source: Biologica 2010

Marketing Channel	2008	2009
Catering/Large Kitchens	46.1	56.1
Other	46.1	51.0
Retail	256.6	286.0
Specialized Stores	234.6	253.6
Total	583.4	646.7

More information

Biologica (2010): Bio monitor 2009. Cijfers & trends. Biologica, Utrecht
Organic-World.net: Country information The Netherlands

New Zealand: Organic product sales rise

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:14:00 +0200

Certified organic food and beverage products contributed 485 million NZ dollars* to the New Zealand economy in 2009, according to new research. The New Zealand Organic Report - commissioned by Organics Aotearoa New Zealand OANZ and prepared by the University of Otago - shows the total value of New Zealand's domestic market for organic products has increased to 315 million NZ dollars, with an additional 170 million NZ dollars contributed by organic exports. The chairman of Organics Aotearoa New Zealand OANZ, Derek Broadmore, said that New Zealand now had 1,145 certified organic farmers, producing on more than 124,000 hectares.**

"New Zealand's organic sector has grown to a total value of NZ $485 million in 2009, up from NZ $330 million in 2007 and NZ $140 million in 2005", Mr Broadmore said.

"This rapid growth shows a continuing concern about what is in our food, and how it is grown. Domestic organic sales are dominated by processed foods - 38% of sales - with fresh fruit and vegetables making up 26% of sales."

"There are also trends towards people buying more local and domestic products at organic specialty stores, and increasing their purchases of fresh products", Mr Broadmore said.

"Increases in sales of organic dairy products (growing almost 400% since 2007) and beverages (430% since 2007) have boosted New Zealand's organic exports."

"The Report also highlights areas of growing interest around organic fibre and textiles, and the role of organics in eco-tourism."

"With demand for organic products continuing to grow through the global financial crisis, New Zealand's organic sector is in a strong position to achieve OANZ's value target of $1 billion by 2013", Mr Broadmore said.

More information

Notes

* Average exchange rate 2009: 1 New Zealand Dollar = 0.45321 Euros = 0.63360 US Dollars ** According to the latest survey on organic agriculture world-wide, 100'000 hectares or 0.81 percent of the country's agricultural land were organic in 2008 (data provided by BioGro New Zealand). The new data thus show a strong increase of the organic area.

Organic Monitor comment

Organic Monitor, the UK based market research company, comments: New Zealand has done well to nurture its organic products industry. The domestic market for organic products has strengthened whilst exports have also increased. The challenge will be for New Zealand companies to continue to increase organic product exports, especially since many countries are experiencing oversupply. Domestic demand may have to absorb a significant portion of the NZ $1 billion target of organic product sales.

Job vacancy at ICROFS: Organic Eprints coordinator and communication assistant

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:41:00 +0200

The International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems ICROFS is looking for an academic employee to coordinate and further develop the open access archive Organic Eprints and participate in information and research communication activities in order to promote research in organic food systems internationally. Main tasks include further development and maintenance of the database www.orgprints.org, communication with partners and strengthening the international network of country editors by way of taking direct contact. The position also includes the participation in the Centre’s multifarious activities of information and research communication in concert with the ICROFS information team, including the development of international communication of organic research results through information material like newsletter and websites. More information about the position, including qualifications and application form, can be found at at the IcROFS homepage. Application deadline is 19 July 2010. Organic Eprints is an open access archive for papers related to organic agriculture. It was set up by ICROFS in 2002. Apart from ICROFS, the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and the office of the German Federal Organic Farming Scheme are partners. The archive has currently more than 10'000 entries.

More information

Contact

Niels Halberg, ICROFS

More information

ICROFS.org: Job description
Orgprints.org: Open Access Archive Organic Eprints
ICROFS.org: ICROFS homepage
ICROFS.org: Newsletter
FiBL.org: Homepage of the the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL
Bundesprogramm.de: Information on research related activities of the German Federal Organic Farming Scheme

Czech Technology Platform for Organic Agriculture CTPOA founded

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:57:00 +0200

With the signature of a contract on 22nd Sept 2009 in Jihlava, all founding members declared their common aim to build and ensure the development of organic farming and organic food production with emphasis on knowledge transfer across all key areas of the sector. By signing this contract, all members have bound themselves to support initiatives focused on strengthening competitiveness of organic agriculture and the development of production, distribution, sales and consumption of organic food, to be active in the related areas of scientific research, technology and innovation and to support and actively participate in the creation and implementation of strategic documents. The platform was founded in accordance with the initiative of TP Organics and the initiative of the European Commission of 16th June 2004 on the establishment of technology platforms.The Czech Technology Platform CTPOA makes a commitment to be active throughout the Czech Republic and, at the same time, to closely cooperate with other technology platforms established within the EU and other countries. Due to a lack of integration between the research sector and the users of its results, it is not possible to achieve an exchange of information, development of innovative technologies and the transfer of practical needs to research, while these are the core of successful development of organic agriculture. Consequently, despite OA development in the Czech Republic following the latest European trends and organic agricultural land is ten percent of total agricultural land. The representational composition of the Platform guarantees cooperation across the whole sector which should contribute to solving problems. CTPOA incorporates research institutes, universities, business representatives – both primary producers and processors of organic produce. The founding members collectively drew up a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) and Implementation Action Plan (IAP).

The SRA is the main working document of the Platform, identifying priorities for long-term research and innovation.
The IAP defines medium-term and long-term aims for progressive work on the identified priorities within individual research topics according to their importance and with regard to weaknesses of Czech organic agriculture and insufficient knowledge. The IAP defines activities and steps necessary to fulfil priorities, including implementation and planned outputs.

Membership of the Platform is open. Membership can be applied for in writing, addressed to the chairman of the steering committee, via the CTPOF coordinator - the Bioinstitut.

More information

Contact

Pavlína Samsonová, CTPOA, c/o Bioinstitut

Sustainable Foods Summit: Irish Cabinet Minister to address Sustainable Foods Summit

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:51:00 +0200

The Irish government has spearheaded many initiatives to promote organic agriculture and sustainable food production. The full conference programme is available at the summit homepage.

More information

Summit contact

Tina Gill
Marketing Manager, Organic Monitor
Tel. +44 20 8567 0788
Fax +44 20 8567 7164
E-mail tinagill@organicmonitor.com

5th Latin American and Caribbean Organic Meeting and Fair: Call for papers

Wed, 26 May 2010 18:28:00 +0200

In the International Year of Biodiversity, the event is dedicated to the contributions that ecological agriculture makes to climate change mitigation and adaptation, the promotion of agricultural biodiversity, improved water and soil management and, in general, food sovereignty, rural development and the vitality of rural areas. The Meeting and Fair will provide a space for dissemination, reflection and exchange among the diverse stakeholders of the organic food chain. The national organizing committee is headed by the National Association of Ecological Producers ANPE. Furthermore, the Peruvian Government (Ministries of Agriculture and Environment) as well as the National Agrarian University La Molina UNALM are represented. The international committee brings together a number of institutions and research institutes from Latin America and the Caribbean, together with FiBL. The event is supported by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and its Latin American members organized in GALCI (Grupo de America Latina y el Caribe de IFOAM). The Meetings and Fairs have their origin in 2003, when the Central American Meeting was held in Costa Rica. After that, similar events were held in Cuba (2004) and Mexico (2005). The first Latin American meeting was held in Nicaragua (2006), followed by Guatemala (2007) and Bolivia (2008). In 2009 the meeting took place in El Salvador.

More information

Contact

ANPE-PERÚ
Lloque Yupanqui 1392
Jesús María, Lima 11, Perú
Tel. +51 1 472 4828 | +51 1 472 4831
contacto@anpeperu.org
www.anpeperu.org

Documents

Call for papers: Flyer V Latin American and Caribbean Meeting of producers, experimenters and researchers in organic agriculture and the V Fair of the Latin American and Caribbean Organic Producers
V Encuentro Latinoamericano y del Caribe de productoras y productores experimentadores y de investigadores en agricultura orgánica y la V Feria del productor ecológico de América Latina y el Caribe.

June 30 - July 2, 2010: 10th Bioacademy in Lednice, Czech Republic

Wed, 26 May 2010 08:48:00 +0200

Bioacademy – an already well-established annual event in the agendas of organic producers, researchers, business people, government representatives and NGOs - is having its 10th anniversary this year. It expects to gather between participants from more than 20 countries, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe and Asia. Apart from a promising celebration programme for its 10th anniversary, Bioacademy offers now a new event structure, dominated by the divide between two main themes:

Agriculture policy and organic farming in EU after 2013 - is money the only concern?
Credibility and fraud in organic farming.

For its 10th anniversary Bioacademy can offer special support for transport and accommodation to participants coming from non-EU countries and from some of new EU countries - Bulgaria, Romania and the Baltic states.

More information

Pro-Bio.cz/bioak: Homepage of the Bioacademy

Spain: Major increase of organic area in 2009

Tue, 25 May 2010 20:16:00 +0200

Like in the previous year, Spain is the country in Europe with the largest area of organic agricultural land. (It should be noted though, that not for all European countries the 2009 figures are available yet).

If the wild collection areas are included, Spain has now a total organic area of 1.6 million hectares and is thus number 2 after Finland, which had eight million hectares of both organic agricultural land and wild collection areas in 2008.

In Spain, major notable increases in both absolute and in relative terms were noted for cereals (+ 45 percent, +58'000 hectares) and for grapes (+75 percent). Spain has more than 50'000 hectares of organic grapes now, and is thus the country with the largest organic grape area in the world. As regards cereals, Spain is now number five in the world (after the United States, Italy, Canada and Germany).

The number of operators has also increased: There are more than 25'000 organic producers now (+ 19 percent compared to 2008).
More information/links

* MARM.es: Statistics on organic agriculture 2001-2009
* Organic-World.net: Statistics Spain

EU logo: User manual published

Tue, 25 May 2010 13:43:00 +0200

On March 31, 2010, Commission Regulation No 271/2010 regarding the organic logo was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 271/2010 of 24 March 2010 amending Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, as regards the organic production logo of the European Union). The new organic logo is the second certifying symbol for organic products in the EU. The first one was launched at the end of the 1990s and was applied on a voluntary basis. It is obsolete from 1 July 2010 although it may still appear on some products as they clear through the supply chain. The exact style guide is available in the Regulation (EC) No 271/2010 and in the user manual.

June 9, 2010: TP Organics presents Strategic Research Agenda in Brussels

Mon, 24 May 2010 22:42:00 +0200

The Technology Platform TP Organics will present its Strategic Research Agenda at the European Parliament in Brussels on June 9, 2010. According to the organisers, this presentation will illustrate the opportunities for a better and efficient research for organic food and farming. The meeting will be a key opportunity for a cross-section of stakeholders and policy makers to consider challenges such as, climate change, water management, loss of biodiversity and discuss on how can best address these challenges while empowering rural areas, and produce sufficient and healthy food with eco-functional intensification. The meeting will start at 5 pm on June 9, 2010. Due to limited numbers of seats, participation is only open to invited people.

More information

Event contact

Lasma Ozola
info@tporganics.eu

Contact TP Organics

Eduardo Cuoce (see right)

Links & documents

TPOrganics.eu: Homepage of the Technology Platforms Organics
Invitation to the event on June 9, 2010
TP Organics: Strategic Research Agenda

Global market: Organic Companies Taking Sustainability Route

Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Related issues will be discussed at the next Sustainable Food Summit, organized by Organic Monitor, to take place June 10 and 11, 2010, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Slowing market growth rates and rising consumer expectations are having an impact on organic food sales. The UK market showed negative growth in 2009, whilst most European countries reported low single-digit growth. Organic Monitor research finds that positive growth is continuing at the global level, however it is far from 15 percent plus growth rates observed in previous years. The economic slowdown has reduced consumer spending power; organic food sales have been affected because of their price premium. Another factor is changing consumer behaviour. With growing interest in climate change, third world debt and ethical issues, consumers are demanding more from organic foods. They are looking at products that are ethically sourced, have low carbon emissions, support indigenous communities and have low ecological footprints. To these consumers, organic only meets part of a complex demand equation. The Sustainable Foods Summit is a series of summits that focuses on the leading issues the food industry faces concerning sustainability, organic, fair trade and other eco-labels. The first summit took place in 2009. Topics covered in the summit include ethical sourcing, fair trade concepts, carbon offsetting, water footprints, traceability & transparency, sustainable sourcing & roundtables, ethical marketing, changing consumer behaviour and ecological packaging. The Sustainable Foods Summit will take place at Movenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Center, June 10-11th. The summit is organised by Organic Monitor, a specialist research & consulting company that focuses on the global organic & related product industries. Organic Monitor regulary provides an article about the global market for organic food on drink for The World of Organic Agriculture. Source and more information: Press release of Organic Monitor of May 7, 2010: Organic Companies Taking Sustainability Route

More information

Summit contact

Tina Gill
Marketing Manager, Organic Monitor
Tel. +44 20 8567 0788
Fax +44 20 8567 7164
E-mail tinagill@organicmonitor.com

Eastern Europe to Central Asia: UNEP Green Economy Initiative Assesses Role of sustainable agriculture in boosting exports, livelihoods and jobs

Sun, 16 May 2010 20:20:00 +0200

UNEP is partnering with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) to examine the economic, employment, poverty reduction and environmental benefits that could be achieved through greater investment in sustainable agriculture in the Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) region. This project, being conducted at the request of environment ministers of the UN Economic Commission for Europe region, will include a sub-regional analysis and national studies in Ukraine, Armenia and Moldova. National workshops are organised in the three countries to consult a broad range of stakeholders. The study, funded by the Government of Sweden, will build on the findings of a 2007 report on sustainable consumption by UNEP and the European Environment Agency which concluded that the EECCA region’s low use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, and its availability of workers presented good prospects for the growth and export of organic food products to Western Europe. According to the IFOAM, organic agriculture worldwide is developing rapidly with 35 million hectares of agricultural land managed organically by almost 1.4 million producers in over 150 countries, and the European Union is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing markets for organics. Yet the share of organic farmland in Ukraine and Moldova is less than 1%, while sustainable farming is just beginning in Armenia. Source: UNEP media release of April 12, 2010: Growing Organic Agriculture from Eastern Europe to Central Asia. UNEP Green Economy Initiative Assesses Role of Sustainable Agriculture in Boosting Exports, Livelihoods and Jobs Across the Region

More information

IFOAM.org: Homepage of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements IFOAM
UNEP.org. Homepage of the UN Environment Programme UNEP
Organic-World.net: Organic Farming Statistics 2005-2008

Austria: Organic market grows by 5 percent in 2009

Sat, 15 May 2010 08:51:00 +0200

Compared with 2008, there has been an increase of 5 percent. The retailers have the highest share of the organic market; they hold two thirds of the market or 657 million Euros. The largest increase (+15 percent) was noted for catering. Exports increased by 10 percent; the main products were cereals, fruit and wine.

More information

Organic-World.net: Market data Austria 2009
OTS.at: Bio-Umsatz in Österreich wuchs 2009 um 5%

October 11-14, 2010: First Conference on Research on Organic Greenhouse Horticulture

Thu, 13 May 2010 13:23:00 +0200

Topics of this conference will include among others soil management, energy use and management, crop health, crop management, nursery production, economics, social and ecological and environmental aspects, standards and product quality. Further specifications regarding topics, papers, presentations as well as costs for the conference, application forms, travel instructions, etc. will be available on the conference website.

More information

Link

OrganicGreenhouseHorticulture.com: First Conference on Research on Organic Greenhouse Horticulture
OrganicGreenhouseHorticulture.com: Homepage of the Working Group "Organic Greenhouse Horticulture"

Contact

Carin van der Lans,Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture P.O. Box 20, 2265 ZG Bleiswijk, The Netherlands
Tel. +31 174 636858, Fax +31 174 636835
E-mail carin.vanderlans@wur.nl

European Union: Updated list of inspection bodies and control authorities now available

Mon, 10 May 2010 12:22:00 +0200

Compliance with the regulation on organic agriculture is supervised by the EU Member States. Each EU Member State has designated a number of public authorities and/or approved private inspection bodies to carry out the inspections. All inspection bodies or inspection authorities act under the supervision or in close cooperation with the central competent authorities of the Member States. An updated list of these bodies can now be downloaded from the organic farming pages of the European Commission. Source: Inspection and certification at the organic farming pages of the European Commission

Tunisia: New organic logo

Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries in association with the Tunisian Agriculture and Fisheries Union (UTAP), Tunisia hosts the Tunisian organic product week from May 10 to 16, 2010. This is reported by Tunisia online news. During the event, the “Bio-Tunisia” label, will be launched and will be awarded to Tunisian organic products that meet standards and specifications established on the occasion. The label which will be awarded at a first stage to olive oil, dates and cereals, will help improve positioning of Tunisian products on the local and external markets. During a news conference held prior to the organic product week in Tunis, Mr. Mohamed Chokri Ayachi, Director General of the Agricultural Investment Promotion Agency (APIA), said that the creation of this label is part of strengthening Tunisian farming products, pointing out that such products as dates, olive oil and some fruits are considered almost as organic products. He also added that “in June 19, 2009, Tunisia received accreditation as organic exporter, thus becoming the 8th country accredited in this sector on the European Union market”. Areas dedicated to organic farming in Tunisia are estimated at 300,000 hectares. The sector includes more than 1,800 stakeholders (producers, processors and exporters), while investments reach more 10 million dinars per year. In 2009, APIA approved of eight organic products with investments of 12.1 million dinars and donations totaling 2,2 million dinars. The number of projects adapted from 2001 to 2009 reached 52 with investments of 81,3 million dinars, in addition to donations estimated at 12 million dinars. Tunisia exported about 13,300 tons of organic products in 2008 with a value of 64 million dinars, compared with 1100 tons in 2001 with a value not exceeding 3 million dinars. Source: Tunisia online news: Tunisia soon to host organic product week

More information

Editor's note

According to the Ministry of Agriculture & Hydraulic Resources, there were 174'725 hectares of crop and pasture land in 2008, in addition to these, there were 110'675 hectares of wild collection areas (see homepage of the Technical Centre of Organic Agriculture CTAB).

U.S.: Organic product sales reach 26.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2009

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 08:38:00 +0200

In fact, organic product sales in 2009 grew by 5.3 percent overall, to reach 26.6 billion US dollars. Of that figure, 24.8 billion US dollars represented organic food. The remaining 1.8 billion U.S. dollars were sales of organic non-foods. “While total U.S. food sales grew by only 1.6 percent in 2009, organic food sales grew by 5.1 percent. Meanwhile, organic non-food sales grew by 9.1 percent, as opposed to total non-food sales which had a 1 percent negative sales growth rate. These findings are indicative that even in tough times, consumers understand the benefits that organic products offer and will make other cuts before they give up products they value,” said Christine Bushway, OTA’s Executive Director. Experiencing the most growth, organic fruits and vegetables, which represent 38 percent of total organic food sales, reached nearly 9.5 billion U.S. dollars in sales in 2009, up 11.4 percent from 2008 sales. Most notable, organic fruits and vegetables now represent 11.4 percent of all U.S. fruit and vegetable sales. Since the approval of the final National Organic Program rule published in 2000, sales of organic fruits and vegetables have grown from 2.55 billion U.S. dollars, representing approximately 3 percent of all fruit and vegetable sales, to the nearly 9.5 billion U.S. dollar level and 11.4 percent penetration level. Meanwhile, during that time, organic food sales have grown from 6.1 billion to 24.8 billion U.S. dollas in 2009, jumping from 1.2 percent of all U.S. food sales to 3.7 percent.

The mass market channel had the lion’s share of organic food sales in 2009, with 54 percent of organic sold through mainstream grocers, club stores and retailers. Natural retailers were next, with 38 percent of total organic food sales. Although still representing a small percentage of sales, farmers’ markets, co-ops and CSA (community-supported agriculture) operations gained a lot of interest as consumers increasingly look for locally and regionally produced organic foods. In the organic non-food sector, organic supplements led, with 634 million U.S. dollars in sales, representing 35 percent of total organic non-food sales, Organic supplement sales were 12 percent higher than in 2008. Organic fiber (linen and clothing) totaled 521 million U.S. dollars in sales, up 10.4 percent, while personal care products, at 459 million U.S. dollars, were up 3.7 percent from 2008 sales. Source: U.S. Organic Product Sales Reach $26.6 Billion in 2009. OTA press release of April 22, 2010. The OTA Homepage

More information

Order report

The 70-page report is available for purchase, priced at 795 U.S. dollars for OTA members and 1,495 U.S. dollars for non-members.
OTA.com: Organic industry survey

UK: Soil Association publishes Organic Market Report 2010

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:25:00 +0200

Despite the tough economic climate, the Soil Association's 2010 Organic Market report shows that the evidence from the early months of this year indicates clear signs of increasing confidence amongst consumers.

The 2010 Organic Market report also shows that sales of organic products in the UK fell by 12.9 percent in 2009 to £1.84 billion. In line with other retail sectors, shoppers spent less on organic food in the recession. In addition, leading retailers reduced organic ranges and shelf space.

The three biggest categories of organic food – dairy, fruit and vegetables, and fresh meat – saw supermarket sales fall by 6.5 percent, 14.8 percent and 22.7 percent respectively. In contrast, organic milk bucked the trend in dairy sales growing by 1 percent, with 2009 being the best year for organic milk sales on record, and organic baby food sales, resilient throughout 2009, grew by 20.8 percent passing the £100 million mark.

Organically managed land area in the UK increased to 743'516 hectares in January 2009 and now represents 4.3 percent of UK farmland. Further key findings in the report include:

Over 60 percent of the UK’s biggest organic brands are planning for growth in the coming year;
Sales of organic food are still three times higher than in 1999 and over 50 percent higher then five years ago;
Tesco organic fresh produce sales are already growing. Tesco predict overall organic sales will increase by 1 percent in 2010 while Waitrose anticipates organic sales growth of 3 to 5 percent.;
Organic box schemes fell by -9.8 percent while supermarket sales of organic fell by -12.2 percent and the independent sector by -17.7 percent;
Organic health and beauty products continued to grow rapidly with sales increasing by a third to £36 million;
Sales of bread and other bakery items were one of the worst hit categories (-39.8 percent)
The number of households buying some organic food fell only slightly in 2009 (from 88.9 percent to 88.3 percent)
Organic products continue to attract shoppers from across the social spectrum, with groups that include manual and casual workers, pensioners, students and people on benefits accounting for 33 percent of the spend.

A summary report and the full report are available at the Soil Association homepage, as are reports from previous years. Source: Organic market report. The Soil Association homepage

More information

SoilAssociation.org: Organic market report
SoilAssociation.org: Full organic market report 2010
SoilAssociation.org: Summary of the market report 2010

Philippines: Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 signed

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Signed on April 6, the law (Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 (Republic Act (RA) 10068) is a state policy to promote, propagate and further develop the practice of organic farming in the Philippines. The policy is expected to increase farm productivity; reduce environmental degradation and prevent the depletion of natural resources; further protect the health of farmers, consumers and the general public; and help cut expenses on imported farm inputs. The new law establishes a comprehensive national agricultural program which will promote organic-farming methods through farmers’ and consumers’ education, and the extension of assistance to local government units, peoples’ organizations, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders. The program will be carried out by the National Organic Agricultural Board NOAB, a policy making body that will provide the direction and general guidelines for the implementation of the national program.

Source: Business Mirror: GMA signs Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, by Mia M. Gonzalez. BusinessMirror.com, April 10, 2010

Editors note According to the latest survey on organic agriculture, there were 15'795 hectares of organic agricultural land constituting 0.14 percent of the country's agricultural area. These data were collected among the local certifier and the international certifiers that are active in the country. It is assumed, that these data are not complete.

Sudan: Development of organic markets crucial for the promotion of organic farming

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:29:00 +0200

At the conference International Conference on Organic Farming ICOF which was held in April 2010 in Sudan, several papers on the current situation of organic farming in this country were presented.The collection of abstracts furthermore contains a number of papers on production related issues. The paper 'Towards a National Organic Agriculture Program in the Sudan' by Kamal E-Siddig & Abdelmagid Elmubarak of the Agricultural Research Corporation gives insight into the history and the current situation and needs for policy action in Sudan. According to this paper, the formal organic sector in the Sudan remains relatively underdeveloped and statistics concerning its status are often difficult to find. "However, the traditional agricultural subsector, which is a de facto low external input system, offers a huge potential for the development of organic agriculture. Serious steps towards the adoption of organic agriculture began in 2001 with the inception of the Organic Agriculture Program (OAP), funded by the Arab Authority for Agriculture Investment and Development (AAAID) and implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MOAF). The Sudanese Society for Organic Agriculture (SSOF) organized a series of workshops between 2004-2006 to create awareness about organic farming among producers, consumers and policy makers. The Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) supports a project to promote the exports of organic bananas from Sudan and Ethiopia to the Middle East and Europe. The Sudanese Standards and Meteorology Organization (SSMO) have also been instrumental in pursuing some organic agriculture-related activities. In spite of all these initiatives, the country still lacks national policies and regulatory frameworks for organic agriculture. The government, through the Agricultural Revival Program (ARP), is committed to promoting organic farming in the country. However, the instruments are inadequate and not well integrated. Inadequate research, extension services and manpower especially on production and marketing information and input supply have hindered promotion. Organic product legislation, standardization, certification and infrastructure are also major issues of policy concerns. A policy in the form of a National Framework is a necessity for the organic sector to flourish and realize its potentials. The Framework is to outline key approaches and strategies to promote organic farming in the country. Formulation of National Standards of Organic Agriculture Production and Processing will be an important step to help organic producers, promoters and certifiers to contribute to organic production and processing. The Framework is to advocate establishing organic famers’ groups and pilot activities in areas of high potentials. Development of organic markets, both internal and external, should be seen as crucial to promotion of organic farming." The paper 'Assessment of Potentialities of Organic Agriculture in Sudan Within The last Five years' by Saada N. A. ELmahi of the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Institute (MAPRI), National Centre for Research and Saifeldin, and M. El-Amin of the College of Agricultural studies, Sudan University of Science and Technology, analyzes the main constraints to the sector's developement. "Over the last five years, a common understanding on organic agriculture as a sustainable mode of production has strongly grown among the Sudanese community. Furthermore, the importance of this type of production is progressively enhanced amongst researchers and academicians. In July 2005 a study on the potentialities of Sudan in organic agriculture was conducted, to assess the situation and acceptance of the concept amongst stakeholders, individuals and institutes. The study indicated that the concept of organic agriculture is fully accepted by the targeted groups The importance of organic agriculture in achieving self sufficiency, rural development and its contribution to the reduction of cost of production were ascertained. Most of the organizations (71.4 percent), are dealing with the definition of organic agriculture under the name of sustainable agriculture, and 46.7 percent were adopting and supporting or promoting traditional agriculture as a non-certified organic agriculture system. Some of them adopted the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods. The study also showed that no regulations were in vogue in Sudan, and the existing agricultural legislations had no effect on organic production especially in the storage, processing and the transfer stages. But, 75 percent of the available legislations supported the marketing of agricultural organic products. The lack of a strategic plan to develop organic agriculture in the Sudan was also apparent. One of the constraints was the absence of an authorized body to register and certify the Sudanese organic products, albeit that most of the products are produced traditionally and naturally using no or low synthetic inputs. It was revealed that 72 percent of the productive institutions employed organic fertilizers, 36% used herbicides and 57 percent adopted the IPM methods, while 25.8 perecent were using organic substances and the same percent using chemicals. Main constraints facing the adoption of organic production in Sudan are defined as, lack of awareness and know–how, weakness of agricultural extension and lack of coordination between the relevant agricultural institutions. Currently, assessment of the situation is reassessed within same institutions using the same questionnaire samples with few modifications. This paper aims at studying the progression in the organic agriculture movement in Sudan and the development occurring during the last five years. This will be achieved by surveying targets from academic and research institutes. The results are be compared by the one achieved five years ago." Source: Abstracts of the International Conference on Organic Farming (ICOF), Friendship Hall, Khartoum, Sudan, April 6-7, 2010

Editor's note

According to the latest survey on organic agriculture world-wide, in Sudan 65'000 hectares of agricultural land are manged organically, this constitutes 0.05 percent of the country's agricultural land.

Call for papers: 3rd International conference on the organic sector development in Central/Eastern European and Central Asian countries in Kazakhstan

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:42:00 +0200

This year’s conference will focus on organic farming and its interactions with rural development, nature conservation, ecotourism and biodiversity. The conference will present practical and scientific knowledge and allow exchange of experiences among practitioners in the fields of grain, rice and seed production, animal husbandry, cotton growing and wild collection. It will broaden participants’ understanding of interrelations of organic agriculture and nature conservation, biodiversity, rural development and eco-tourism, and promote the importance of intact agro-ecosystems. Market aspects and strategies will be an integral part of the conference programme as farmers and manufacturers are anxious in developing local and international ties to market players. In the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus agriculture plays an important role. Most of the inhabitants live in rural areas. Huge farms contrast with small scale subsistence farming. Some of the best soils worldwide are located in the region, but also areas of heavily degraded agricultural land. The countries have to cope with effects of intensive use of agrochemicals, soil salinity, desertification and water scarcity. Kazakhstan is the largest of the Central Asian countries. Astana, the capital city is situated near to the Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve, a (threatened) wetland paradise. All participants are warmly welcomed to register now and make use of the discount for early bird registration until May 31, 2010.

September 17-18, 2010: 3rd International conference on the organic sector development in Central/Eastern European and Central Asian countries in Kazakhstan

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:42:00 +0200

This year’s conference will focus on organic farming and its interactions with rural development, nature conservation, ecotourism and biodiversity. The call for contributions is open until June 1, 2010. The conference will present practical and scientific knowledge and allow exchange of experiences among practitioners in the fields of grain, rice and seed production, animal husbandry, cotton growing and wild collection. It will broaden participants’ understanding of interrelations of organic agriculture and nature conservation, biodiversity, rural development and eco-tourism, and promote the importance of intact agro-ecosystems. Market aspects and strategies will be an integral part of the conference programme as farmers and manufacturers are anxious in developing local and international ties to market players. In the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus agriculture plays an important role. Most of the inhabitants live in rural areas. Huge farms contrast with small scale subsistence farming. Some of the best soils worldwide are located in the region, but also areas of heavily degraded agricultural land. The countries have to cope with effects of intensive use of agrochemicals, soil salinity, desertification and water scarcity. Kazakhstan is the largest of the Central Asian countries. Astana, the capital city is situated near to the Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve, a (threatened) wetland paradise. All participants are warmly welcomed to register now and make use of the discount for early bird registration until May 31, 2010.

United Arab Emirates: The demand for organic produce is growing but production needs to be be increased

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:42:00 +0200

The prices of organic produce in the UAE are three to four times more than conventional produce whereas in Europe the prices are just double only, said Gian L. Nicolay, deputy manager of a project set-up by Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) to promote organic farming in the emirate. According to Nicolay, an agronomist with the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, imported organic produce, due to low local production, is costly which leads to a low demand for them. This in turn discourages local farmers from switching to organic farming. The UAE has 331 hectares of organic farm land which is a mere 0.05 per cent of total farm lands, according to the 2010 edition of ‘The World of Organic Agriculture', published by FiBL and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Source: High prices, low awareness stall organic farming plans. GulfNews.com of April 13, 2010

More information

GulfNews.com: High prices, low awareness stall organic farming plans. GulfNews.com of April 13, 2010
ADFCA.ae: Homepage of the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority
FiBL.org: Homepage of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL
Organic-World.net: Statistics 2008

September 16-17, 2010: Organic Edunet Final Conference

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 19:42:00 +0200

The eContentplus Organic.Edunet project is organizing the European Conference on IT-Enhanced Organic, Agro-Ecological and Environmental Education, which will be held on the 16^th and 17^th of September 2010 in Budapest, Hungary. The Organic.Edunet project is working on methods and technologies for facilitating the education of organic and ecological agriculture topics. The project is at the point of sparkling and facilitating the dialogue around the challenges that organic, ecological and environmental education faces today, as well as around the ways in which Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) can support and enhance it. Therefore, the IT-Enhanced Organic, Agro-Ecological and Environmental Education Conference, the offspring of Organic.Edunet project, is focusing on Learning Methodologies in Agriculture and, more specifically, on Organic Agriculture and Ecology. During the conference, ICT innovations will be presented, through which learning methodologies can benefit the aforementioned stakeholders in various areas and activities. The conference offers a great opportunity to bring together an audience that is working on relevant topics around Europe and the world. In order to discuss about the real challenges in Agriculture and Agroecology, and how current organizational, pedagogical, and technical solutions may address them, the Organizing Committee has invited plenary speakers, project leaders and experts in the field.

More information

Organic-Edunet.eu: Homepage of the Organic Edunet project
Programme

Taiwan: Organic agriculture a growing business for Taiwan’s farms

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 12:26:00 +0200

Land dedicated to organic foods has grown significantly: In 2001 organic agriculture comprised 898 hectares compared to 3'056 hectares in April 2010.

Vegetables have seen the fastest growth in the last nine years with 5.5 times as much land now being used. In 2001, organic vegetables took up only 171 hectares compared to 944 hectares now.

The director-general of the Agriculture and Food Agency, Tsai Ching-chiang, said consumers have begun to favor organic agricultural products and that this consumption trend has influenced farming practices. Source: Taipe Times, Monday, Mar 29, 2010, Page 2 'Organic agriculture a growing business for Taiwan’s farms'

More information

taipeitimes.com: Organic agriculture a growing business for Taiwan’s farms
organic.org.tw: Homepage of the Organic Information Centre of Taiwan
organic.org.tw: Statistics