With all its seaports blocked and bridges damaged in the war, Ukraine is shipping more of its organic exports by rail and river vessels. New trade routes send more products through Romania, Poland and Lithuania. Due to proximity, Europe has become an even more important trading company for the embattled country. On the farm side, 30 percent of certified organic land in Ukraine is either occupied or mined, reports the Ukrainian Ministry o f Agrarian Policy and Food. Nevertheless, 99 percent of the sowing campaign in 2022 is complete. 

New rules proposed by the European Commission would require fall farmers and professional pesticide users to practice integrated pest management, as well as banning all pesticides in sensitive areas, including urban green areas. The move is part of proposed legally binding targets to reduce pesticide use and risk by 50 percent by 2030.

Due to environmental and sustainability concerns, Taiwan began restricting the use of polyvinyl chloride in food packaging starting July 1, 2022. The first restrictions are for the use of flat packaging materials. Two other Asia-Pacific nations have already banned the materials, with South Korea taking the lead in 2020, and New Zealand phasing out PVC food packaging starting in April 2022.

After nearly 20 years of increasing organic agriculture exports from Ukraine and a domestic market that is beginning to sprout, war brings the treat of destruction of the Ukrainian organic sector. Thirty percent of organic operators have had to suspend business activities, and 70 percent need financial assistance. Although some of Ukraine’s key products (corn, wheat, sunflower products) continue to be available, the Ukrainian ministry of agriculture has excluded many products from export, so check the list, which is updated frequently. The biggest challenge, however, is lack of export infrastructure, including trucks and personnel. Rail alternatives have worked for some organic shipments, and the European Commission intends to assist with additional vehicles. Meanwhile, two organizations in Ukraine, Organic Initiative and Green Dossier, have set up a grant program.

Over the last decade, sales of organic products from locally certified farms/plants in Hong Kong have grown steadily at an average rate of about 10 percent. In 2021, U.S. fresh and chilled organic exports to Hong Kong dropped 11 percent to $10 million compared to 2020 but held above the five-year average. In addition, the slowdown in U.S. organic exports was far less than the 20 percent decline in conventional U.S. exports. While most U.S. agricultural exports faced shipping logistics challenges last year, the smaller contraction in U.S. exports of organic products reflects the growing popularity of these products in Hong Kong. 

With carbon farming a priority on the European Union’s agenda for climate change mitigation in agriculture, IFOAM Organics Europe’s new position paper urges the use of a holistic approach which includes not only on the amount of carbon stored in soils but also encompasses biodiversity protection, as in organic farming. A companion document outlines the environmental benefits organic agriculture, including reduced energy use, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon sequestration.

With a market share of 10.9 percent, sales of organic products in Switzerland were over four billion Swiss francs in 2021, according to Bio Suisse. Eggs, bread and vegetables are the most popular products.

China’s leading online food retailer JD Super has seen certified organic food sales increase 78 percent year-over-year in 2021, and up 110 percent between 2019 and 2021. Other key trends include increased sales of low fat, low sugar and grain-based staple foods; increase interest in products that indicate their geographical provenance (i.e. Wuchang rice); and new instant foods (such as dried mushroom soup mix) and cooking oils (i.e. avocado oil).

Organic products were 11 percent of purchases and valued at nearly 800 million Euros in Austria in 2021, according to the information from the rolling agricultural market analysis. Overall, Austrian households spend less on food retail in 2021 compared to 2020, but still 13 percent more than before the pandemic. Baking and cooking are down, but sales of ready-made meals and mixes are growing. Although online sales are a minor part of food purchasing at two percent, organic products are ordered more often than average.