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Country Content Sections/Tabs

Country Content Sections/Tabs

Policy Information

Policy Information

Government Agency(s) / Competent Authority

Authorized Government Agency(s):

Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock

Agency(s) Contact Information:

Final 1st. Avenue North, 13th Street West and Ave Manuel Gallardo.
Santa Tecla, Republic of El Salvador, C. A.
Telephone: (503) 2210-1700
E-mail: info@mag.gob.sv
Website

Organic Regulations and/or Standards

Name(s) of Regulation and/or Standard:

Executive Decree 52 of 14 of May 2004, Regulations for the production process and certification of organic products, approves the regulation for the production, processing and certification of organic products; authority and its functions; definitions; organic vegetable and animal production; processing; storage and transportation; export and import; accreditation and supervision; general and transitory provisions. 

2012- Promulgation of new decree to replace Decree 52 of 2004

Date of Implementation: Not Implemented Yet

Regulation and/or Standard Scope:

This regulation is to establish standards to be applied to the production, processing, marketing and certification of organic products. This regulation applies to all animal or plant products and byproducts that are produced, processed or marketed under certified organic production methods. Livestock includes pets.  Includes certification of wild harvest but does not include hunting of wild animals and fishing.  Includes certification of producer groups, and in-conversion production and labeling.  Hydroponic production is not allowed.  Processed organic products must have at least ninety five percent organic ingredients, excluding water and salt.  Prohibition on use of genetically modified organisms and ionizing radiation.

Imported Products

Certified organic products may be imported only after demonstrating compliance with the provisions of the Regulation.

Certification and Accreditation

Certification:

Information about registration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock

Accreditation Method:

Government

Accreditation:

Ministry of Agriculture

Additional Information

Reference Standards:

Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, plus Panama and the Dominican Republic are benchmarking their standards to a regional organic standard - the Central America Regional Standard. August 2016 these regional standards were put before the World Trade Organization for comment.

Additional Information:

USDA’s GAIN Report El Salvador Food Processing Ingredients (2022)
USDA’s GAIN Report El Salvador Exporter Guide (2021)
USDA’s GAIN Report El Salvador Retail Foods Annual Report (2023)
USDA’s GAIN Report El Salvador Food Service - Hotel Restaurant Institutional (2022)
USDA’s GAIN Report El Salvador Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards - Narrative (2019)
USDA’s GAIN Report El Salvador Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Export Certificate Report (2023)
USDA’s GAIN Report El Salvador Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Country Report (2023)
USDA’s GAIN Report e-Commerce flourishes with COVID-19 (2021)

Definitions

Definitions

Term

Definition

Health and Wellness

Health and wellness is the aggregation of organic packaged food and beverages, fortified/functional packaged food and beverages, naturally healthy packaged food and beverages, better for you packaged food and beverages and food intolerance products.

Organic packaged foods and beverages

This category includes packaged food & beverages that are certified organic by an approved certification body. Organic production is based on:

• A system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers.
• Organic food & beverages are minimally processed without artificial ingredients, preservatives or irradiation.
• The use of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organism) is prohibited. “Certified Organic” means the item has been grown according to strict uniform standards that are verified by independent state or private organizations.
• Depending on the country, such products are called ‘organic’, ‘biological’ or ‘ecological’: For organic products to be included under Euromonitor definitions, the organic aspect needs to form part of positioning/marketing of the product. This is an aggregation of organic baby food, bakery, confectionery, dairy, ice cream, oils and fats, ready meals, rice, sauces, dressings and condiments, snack bars, soups, spreads, sweet and savory snacks and other organic food.

Note that fresh food products or individual ingredients are not included in this definition.

Compound annual growth rate (CAGR)

The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is the average annual growth rate over a specified period of time. For instance, the CAGR consumption of from 2018 – 2021 will be the average growth rates across these three years.

USDA GATS data clarification

The data presented in table 2.4 represents the dollar values of the top 5 organic commodities as well as of the total organic exports of the trade partner for the period 2018-2021 as per the United States Department of Agriculture’s Global Agricultural Trade System, a database consisting of international agricultural, fish, forest and textile products trade statistics dating from the inception of the Harmonized coding system in 1989 to present.

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How to use this website

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) brings the US organic industry to developing markets around the world. This database is a comprehensive tool for OTA membership interested in participating in or expanding international trade in organic products by providing information to understand international markets for organic products. Select the country you wish to export to and find out whether it has an agreement with the United States, who its certifiers are, and much more.

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