Mar 24, 2023

The government will increase payments by an average of 25% for farmers who convert to organic through the Countryside Stewardship program. Farmers must be enrolled in a certification program before applying for the funding by August 18, 2023. Payments are also available for farming practices that are aligned with organic practices through the new Sustainable Farming Incentives program. 

Mar 3, 2023

Pakistan’s National Agriculture Research Center will offer an organic agriculture support facility and set up a certification authority, according to the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council.

Mar 1, 2023

The European Union has authorized one genetically modified soybean variety and one genetically modified rapeseed variety for use in food and animal feed, but not for cultivation. The authorizations are valid for 10 years.

Feb 27, 2023

The United Kingdom’s organic market hit £3.1 billion in 2022, up 1.6% from 2021, according to the Soil Association’s Organic Market Report 2023, despite challenging economic conditions hitting people’s pocketbooks. Foodservice sales grew 152% in 2022 to reach £195.5 million. In the past three years, the UK’s organic food and drink market has grown 25.4%.

Feb 22, 2023

The new Arid Institute of Organic Agriculture, which resulted from a memorandum of understanding between Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, The Thünen-Institute, Germany, and Pakistan Organic Association, will develop and implement a National Organic Agriculture program, including laws regulations and labeling.

Feb 21, 2023

The United States Agency for International Development and Olam Food Ingredients are working together to invest $8.1 million to help 1000 of Peru’s small farms to shift to organic coffee production, increase production, and improve quality.

Feb 16, 2023

China plans to plant about 660,000 acres, or less than 1% of its corn fields with genetically modified corn this year. The move is a departure from previous policy which rarely allowed cultivation of GMO food crops.

Feb 8, 2023

As part of sustainability efforts to reducie plastic waste and increase recycling, South Korea has given the go-ahead for PET plastics that have been physically (not chemically) recycled to be used in news food and beverage containers.

Jan 23, 2023

Effective January 1, 2023, Spain is taxing non-reusable plastic packaging, including imported food products. For imported products, the tax is the importer’s responsibility and manufacturers must provide their Spanish buyers with information regarding the amount of non-recyclable plastic packaging used in their products’ packaging. The tax covers the manufacture, import, or intra-community acquisition of single-use plastics containers. It includes all non-reusable containers containing plastic or their non-reusable portion of plastic packaging.

Jan 18, 2023

Peru is the third-largest South American market for U.S. consumer-oriented agricultural products. The U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) reduced barriers to entry. Coupled with increasing wealth in Peru, these factors led to a 423-percent increase in U.S. consumer-oriented exports from $65 million in 2009 to $340 million in 2021. Remaining tariffs will be eliminated by 2026. U.S. dairy, meats, pet food, and food preparations have performed particularly well in the Peruvian market and are primarily distributed through modern supermarket chains.

January 18

 

Jan 13, 2023

Although the organic market dipped in 2022 compared to the boom in sales during the shut-downs of 2021, interest in organic products is expected to remain strong. The German government plans to increase the share of agricultural land under organic farming to 30%—rather than 20%—by 2030, which is expected to increase demand for organic products.

Jan 12, 2023

New Zealand will restrict sales of a wide range of plastic products, including non-compostable produce stickers. Beginning in 2023, produce stickers for fruit and vegetables produced in New Zealand must be compostable by 2023, while imported produce will need to have compostable stickers by mid-2025.

Jan 1, 2023

Australia updated its National Standard for Organic and
Bio-Dynamic Produce. Edition 3.8, in effect January 1 , 2023, incorporates changes on:
semen sexing in livestock intended for milk production
Sodium Hydroxide  used as a pH adjuster for Cosmetics and Skincare
Wine Production (and applicable appendices).
Edition 3.8 also has edits relating to administration changes, Machinery of Government changes, and structure changes for readability and access purposes.

Dec 26, 2022

India’s Ministry of Agriculture reported  that at the beginning of 2022, India had 30934 clusters and 619,000 hectares of organic agriculture, which increased to 32384 clusters and an area of 653,000 hectares throughout the year. Organic farming on both sides of the Ganges River are helping control water pollution and are boosting farmer income. 

Dec 26, 2022

As a result of a lawsuit brought by small-scale farmers, Kenya’s High Court has temporarily suspended the government’s decision to allow import and cultivation of genetically modified corn. The farmers assert that the decision was rushed, did not address health concerns, and threatens the tradition of saving seeds.

Dec 26, 2022

As a result of a lawsuit brought by small-scale farmers, Kenya’s High Court has temporarily suspended the government’s decision to allow import and cultivation of genetically modified corn. The farmers assert that the decision was rushed, did not address health concerns, and threatens the tradition of saving seeds.

Dec 19, 2022

The World Wildlife Fund Italy, Rainforest  Connection and Huawei Italy will continue a research project to compare the biodiversity of organically-managed areas with neighboring conventionally-managed areas. So far, the bioacoustic surveys have identified 49 species of birds and mammals and generated 2000 real-time alerts of potentially illegal activities, such as poaching, dirt bikes and logging.

Dec 8, 2022

Amid increased rates of savings and a decline of consumer confidence, China continues to add to the middle class.

Dec 8, 2022

To combat soil degradation and water pollution, China’s Ministry of Agriculture wants farmers to use less pesticides and fertilizers, and has set a target for 55% of planted agricultural land to shift to green methods by 2025. Fruit, vegetable, and tea producers will reduce pesticide use by a tenth, and rice, wheat and corn producers will cut pesticide use by 5%.

Dec 6, 2022

A new Schedule B export code for organic dates and 12 new Harmonized Tariff Schedule organic-specific codes will go into effect January 1, 2023. Codes include: 
HTS 0713.20.2090: Approved a breakout for certified organic chickpeas
Schedule B 0804.10.0000: Approved a stat line for exports of certified organic dates.
HTS 0804.10.2000: Approved a breakout for imports of certified organic dates packed in units weighing (with immediate container, if any) not more than 4.6 kg.
HTS 1006.20.2000: Approved a breakout for certified organic basmati rice.
HTS 1206.00.0061 and 1206.00.0069: Breakouts were approved for “Sunflower seeds, whether or not broken; Other than for use as oil stock; Other; For human use; In-shell; Certified organic” and for “Sunflower seeds, whether or not broken; Other than for use as oil stock; Other; For human use; Other than in-shell; Certified organic”
HTS 1207.40.0000: Approved breakout for certified organic sesame seeds.
HTS 1512.11.0020: Approved breakout for crude oil, certified organic sunflower-seed oil.
HTS 1512.19.0020: Approved breakout for other than crude oil certified organic sunflower-seed oil.
HTS 1702.30.4040: Approved breakout for certified organic glucose syrup.
HTS 1702.30.4080: Approved breakout for certified organic glucose.
HTS 1702.60.4020: Approved breakout for certified organic fructose syrup.
HTS 2304.00.0000: Approved breakout for certified organic “Oilcake and other solid residues, whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, resulting from the extraction of soybean oil.”
HTS 2923.20.2000: Approved doing a single breakout for “Certified organic lecithins.”

The Organic Trade Association advocated for the changes.

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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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