EU: import of organic fruit and vegetables will be electronically certified

24/10/2016

The measure promoted by the European Commission (EC) seeks to improve the traceability of these foods and reduce the risk of potential fraud. The objective is that the import of organic products be covered by an electronic certificate from October of 2017.

The EC proposed creating this new electronic certification system for imported organic products that seeks to improve the traceability of these foods and reduce the risk of potential fraud, the community executive said.

"This system will not only provide simplification to operators, which will facilitate trade, but will increase consumer confidence in organic products", stressed Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan.

This regulation will begin to be applied in six more months and will respond to a series of recommendations from the 2012 Court of Accounts and to the request of different EU Member States that expressed their difficulties to monitor the movements of organic products and the consistency of the certificates of control when importing.

In practical terms, the changes will require a new electronic certificate to the community traceability system known as Trade Control & Expert System, permanently accessible so that the authorities can obtain information.

Once the mechanism begins to be applied, in April of 2017, there will be a transition period in which both electronic and paper certification can be used.

The goal is that in October 2017 the import of organic products is covered only by an electronic certificate.

According to the EC, the changes also seek to reduce the administrative burden for operators and authorities and provide a more comprehensive statistics on the importation of organic products.

In April, 2016 ended the negotiations between Chile and the European Union regarding the Agreement on Equivalence and Reciprocity in Organic Products, being the first agreement of "new generation" on trade in organic products signed by the EU with a Latin American country. The agreement mutually recognizes the equivalence of their respective organic production standards and their control systems, ensuring a high level of respect for the principles of organic production.

According to the statistics of the Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies (Odepa), exports of organic Chilean products to the EU, between January and September of 2016, reach 11.644 tons, for an amount of USD 31,8 million. Among the exported products are a great variety of fruits, such as blueberries, apples, kiwis, frozen and dried raspberries and strawberries, grapes, fresh and dried plums and dried quinces.

Source: Agrimundo - Magazine markets - European Commission