Bill approved to standardise organics in Russia
According to Sergei Korshunov, Chairman of the Board for the Union of Organic Agriculture; "The law on organic farming will allow conscientious agricultural producers to distance themselves from falsification and give more assurance to consumers that they are buying quality organic products. This move also helps us come one step closer to becoming the largest producer and exporter of organic products in the world."
A lack of suitable land is something that has been a challenge for the growth of organic production in other parts of the world, but this is not the case for Russia. According to Evromonitor, more than 20 million hectares of land have not received agrochemicals for more than 3 years and may be suitable for introduction into circulation as organic.
According to the Union of Organic Agriculture, there are now about 70 certified agricultural producers in Russia. Of these, 39 in the field of crop production, 9 in livestock, and 3 produce wild plants. Current organic production spans approximately 246,000 hectares and is worth USD $120 mln. Organic producers who follow the farm to fork model, have been seeing good returns.
Currently, more than 90% of the certified organic products in Russia are imported.