New legislation to increase consumer confidence in organic products will benefit the domestic and export New Zealand horticulture industry, Horticulture New Zealand says.
"The new legislation will create a standard that will give consumers greater confidence that the organic fruit and vegetables they are buying has been grown to a rigorous and consistent standard," says HortNZ President, Barry O’Neil.
"At the same time, the new standard will facilitate exports, because it will be accepted overseas without the need for further, market by market, requirements."
Barry says while the organic fruit and vegetable sector in New Zealand is relatively small, like the rest of the organics sector, it is growing almost twice as fast as the conventional sector, up 8.1% per year compared to 4.8% per year for conventionally grown produce (Source: 2018 New Zealand Organic Sector Report).
"Without a doubt, the new standard will help us grow the market for organic fruit and vegetables, in New Zealand and overseas. Organic export kiwifruit is already a success story, with increasing interest being shown in organic export apples and onions in recent seasons."
