FAO urges poor nations to boost organic food sales

David Brough

ROME: The United Nations food body urged poor nations on Monday to boost exports of organic produce to take advantage of booming markets in developed countries. “Domestic production of organic products in developed countries is expected to rise within the next few years, but it is unlikely to meet demand for most products,” the Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in a report.

“As demand for organic fresh produce is expected to continue to exceed production in developed countries, imports will be needed to meet consumers’ demand,” said the study, entitled World markets for organic fruit and vegetables.

Organic agriculture restricts the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. The market surveys carried out for the study indicated fast growth in sales of organic fruit and vegetables in most developed nations. “Sales values were found to increase in most markets at annual rates generally ranging between 20 and 30 per cent during the last years of the 1990s,” the report said.

“Particularly high growth rates have recently been observed in the United Kingdom and in Italy,” it added. “In Italy, organic fruit and vegetable retail sales have grown at an annual rate of about 85 per cent during 1998-2000, while in the early months of 2001, after the detection of the first case of ’mad cow disease’ in Italy, growth rates moved even higher.”

Proximity helps
Developing nations located nearest to northern developed markets had the best chance of success in boosting their fresh organic food exports, according to the report. “For products that cannot be produced in the colder climates in northern developed countries (e.g., oranges, kiwi etc.) most organic supply comes from producing countries close to these markets, such as nations in the Mediterranean area for the EU,” it said.

FAO said success in exporting to developed country markets depended on offering a more competitive producer and FOB price while meeting at least the organic and phytosanitary standards and providing the same quality as conventional products.

The report outlined the following recommendations to developing nations to boost exports to developed markets:
* Establish national or regional organic standards and regulations and a reliable independent accreditation and control system.
* Increase know-how on organic farming and organic inputs.
* Ensure good post-harvest handling (e.g. cold storage), good infrastructure and logistics (including harbour and airports).
* Maintain reliable relations with an importer, trader or wholesaler in the target market.

According to the study, the highest values of total organic food sales in 2000 were found in the United States ($8 billion), followed by Germany ($2.1 billion), Britain ($986 million) and Italy ($978 million).

— Reuters