Although sales of organic products in Ireland are up 20 percent and currently valued at €136 million, based on sales at major supermarkets, only two percent of Ireland’s farms are certified organic.
 

China has measures in place to prevent spread of mosquitos which carry Zika virus, and the United States is now subject to these requirements since Zika is present in the United States. The situation and requirements may change, and USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service is working with Chinese ministries, US government counterparts, and industry stakeholders to clarify implementation of the new requirements and minimize potential trade disruptions. 
Key points: 

• Chinese authorities require all cargo shipments originating from the United States to provide proof of disinsection upon arrival at the Chinese port, both either air or sea. This applies to all vessels that left the United States on or after August 5, with the exception of containers kept at or under a temperature of 150C (590F). 
• Disinsection treatment may be carried out by either physical or chemical means, and does not require fumigation. Physical means could include trapping, air curtains, or other integrated pest-management techniques. Chemical means could include surface spraying, space spraying, or fumigation, depending on the shipper’s choice. The treatment used should take into account human health and safety. 
• Treatment can be carried out at any point during the shipping process. For example, it is acceptable for containers to be disinsected before loading, certified as mosquito free, then loaded in a mosquito-free environment.

With sales of approximately 2 billion euros, natural and nature-based cosmetics comprise about 15 percent of the cosmetics market in Germany. Nearly 40 percent of these products are sold via drugstores, and 25 percent move through health food specialty stores.

A new report from Persistence Market Research estimates the global market for natural and organic personal care products to reach US$ 11 billion in 2016, with a year-over -year growth of 9.7 percent. By the end of 2024, the report predicts the global market for these products to exceed US$21 billion. Among the factors influencing the growth: expansion of distribution channels and increased online reach. Skin care is expected to have about 30% pf the organic and natural personal care market. North America is expected to have about a third of the total global market by the end of 2016.

With much of the demand for organic products coming from India’s cities, such as Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bengaluru and Pune, the market has the potential to grow 25 percent annually to reach $1.36 billion by 2020.

The Organic Industry Standards and Certification Council and the Organic Federation of Australia launched a new organic certification mark to make organic products with 95 percent or more organic ingredients easier to identify. Those wishing to use the seal must license its use with an accredited certifier. The seal’s use is not restricted to products from Australia; it can be used in countries with equivalency agreements with Australia. The label must indicate the product’s country of origin. Australia has equivalence talks underway with the Republic of Korea, China, and the United States.

International organic products distributor Eosta, through its Nature & More subsidiary, has teamed up with retailers in the Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Belgium to make the true cost of non-organic fruit and vegetables visible to European consumers. Depending on availability, pears, pineapples, oranges and lemons in supermarkets across Europe will display information cards that illustrate the monetary costs to the climate, water, soil, biodiversity, social cohesion and health of conventional fruits and vegetables. For direct comparison, the cards also display the substantially lower ‘true’ costs of production for organic fresh produce from the same region.

Fueled by growing health awareness and increased interest in beauty and personal care, the world organic personal care and cosmetic products market is expected to reach $19.8 billion by 2022, registering a CAGR of 10.2% from 2016 to 2022, according to a new report from Market Research Reports. The “World Organic Personal Care and Cosmetic Products Market - Opportunities and Forecasts, 2015 - 2022” report indicates North America was the largest market, accounting for approximately 35% of the global market revenue, followed by Europe in 2015. Asia-Pacific is expected to show the highest CAGR of 11.1% during 2016-2022. The skin care segment would continue to dominate the market, accounting nearly one-third of the market size by 2022.

A digital media campaign, pop-up shops in East London and Glasgow, targeted emails each week and a downloadable guide are all part of the plans for the annual national promotional campaign from the Soil Association in September 2016. Free downloadable materials as well as a campaign brief are available for those who would like to participate in promoting organic products in the UK.