The agreements are mainly intended to help smaller producers and sellers of organic food. They will face fewer administrative obligations and simpler inspections. It should also remain easier for consumers to buy organic and natural products, both in stores and online.
Small shops
Small shops that sell unpackaged organic food will no longer need to apply as quickly for an official certificate. The maximum annual turnover for which an exception is possible will be doubled from 20,000 to 40,000 euros. The allowed sales quantity will also increase, from 5,000 to 10,000 kilograms per year.
Small webshops will also benefit from relaxations. Under certain conditions, they can sell prepackaged organic food without having to undergo all the usual certification procedures.
Also import
The international trade in organic food will also gain more certainty. The EU is extending the recognition of organic production rules in eleven countries outside the Union until the end of 2036. This means products from these countries can continue to enter the European market without their producers having to comply with all individual European regulations.
Additional conditions will still apply for using the European organic label. This recognizable green mark is meant to give consumers clarity about the organic origin of food products. Imported products must meet additional requirements for production, processing, and inspection before they can carry the European label.
Negotiators have also decided that existing stocks of organic food do not have to immediately disappear from shops when the new rules take effect. Products labeled according to the current regulations may be sold out. This prevents traders and producers from having to repackage their inventories.
Less subsidy
Organic industry organizations generally respond positively to the agreements, especially because of the certainty for international trade. At the same time, financial support for organic farmers remains a topic of discussion. In negotiations over the future European agricultural budget, the explicit obligation to support organic farming is at risk of disappearing, according to the industry organization IFOAM.
IFOAM fears that as a result, farmers may receive significantly more support in one EU country than in another. The organization wants thirty percent of the future agricultural budget to be reserved for environmental and climate measures, including organic farming. It insists that existing financial commitments to organic farmers be maintained.
It is already clear from the European multiannual forecasts that the budget for agricultural subsidies will be drastically reduced. The question is whether it will be cut by a quarter or by a third. Agriculture ministers will discuss this at their monthly meeting in Luxembourg early this week.
