The Canada-EU Organic Equivalency Arrangement, which was signed five years ago, was said to disadvantage Canada, but now the EU has voted in favour of extending the scope of the agreement, which will create a level playing field for organic products on both sides of the trade.
This vote means Canadian certified organic processed products made with imported ingredients will now be covered by the arrangement and will no longer require costly double certification.
"The EU market is the second largest organic market in the world, valued at almost $24 billion Euro, and now the Canadian organic sector has full access to it," says Kelly Monaghan of the Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA).
"The problem with the way it was written in 2011, was that European products certified to the EU organic standard, no matter where the ingredients of those products originated... could come to Canada and be sold as an organic product," she says. "For the other direction, Canadian products to be sold as organic in the European market, required that all of the ingredients of those Canadian products were grown in Canada."
In a press release this week, Canada's Trade and Agriculture Ministers also celebrated the announcement, saying it's welcome news for Canada's organic sector.
"This is great news for our hard-working Canadian organic processors and producers who will now benefit from increased opportunities to export their products to Europe," says Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay.
Some administrative steps remain before the amended EU regulation comes into force. Monaghan says they are told the amendments will enter into force in early April.
Source: pembinavalleyonline.com