Global Perspectives of Organic Agricultural Industry -Growth, Trade & Standards-

  • Published : 2001.10.01

Abstract

The last few nears have seen significantly increased interest in organic food. Organic food is still a small but growing part of the food industry with an identity defined and protected by law. Its existence provides an element of consumer choice. To obtain consumer confidence and, product credibility and transparency in the organic market, organic legislation and certification is needed, To facilitate export of organic products, harmonization of the organic legislation is favoured. The IFOAM accreditation programme has already achieved very much in this respect. Several national regulation, such as the NOP(USA) and EC2092/91(European Union) have already complied with the IFOAM basic standards. But in many countries there is still a lack of national legislation on organic agriculture. Because of the fast globalisation, organic agriculture is facing major challenges for international trade, so it is very important to consider the future development and certification of organic produce in all countries.

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