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1 Introduction

Intensive farming is coming under increasing pressure to conform to the principles of sustainability and consumers are demanding produce free of chemical residues. As a result, ‘green’ or ecologically-friendly agriculture is increasingly being adopted around the world. Organic farming has a long history and has the advantage that more and more countries are adopting regulations about the use of the term ‘organic’; this is helping to build public confidence in the concept. Principles of organic production may well vary from region to region but there are certain legal minima which must be met in order to conform with the Codex Alimentarius regulations on organic produce (latest edition, 2001) (1). Although growing public confidence in organic labels is helpful, organic production units are often small-scale in nature which can make it difficult for a grower to guarantee continuity of supply to importers and to market their products adequately. Developing countries may need to assist organic producers to achieve economies of scale, e.g. through the formation of co-operatives.

Apart from regulations which apply to the production of organic produce, there are certain specific post-harvest activities which need to be modified to comply with organic regulations. The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM, http://www.ifoam.org) has proposed specific guidelines for post-harvest activities associated with the production of organic coffee, cocoa and tea. This report covers the wider area of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables; and contains many references to the draft IFOAM basic standards 2002 (2).

1.2 World Trade
The value of the world organic market was estimated to be over US$ 15 billion in 2000 (Table 1). The USA and Germany dominate this figure. Despite this apparent large scale, the estimated share of organic products in total food sales is around 1%; the highest estimated share is in Denmark, where organic produce is estimated to reach 3% of total food sales.Organic fruit and vegetable sales account for around 20% of the total organic sales and represent around 2-10% of all fruit and vegetable sales in the developed countries for which estimates have been made (Table 1).

Table 1. Value and shares of organic markets in 2000 (figures rounded).

Country
Estimated value of total organic sales (US $ Million)
Estimated value of organic fruit and vegetable sales (US $ Million)
Estimated share of organic in total Fruit (F) and Vegetable (V) sales (%)
Austria
195
29
3 F, 5 V
Belgium
138
34
-
Denmark
372
-
-
France
846
169
-
Germany
2 128
378
2.6
Italy
978
264
2
Japan
350
-
-
Netherlands
210
-
-
Sweden
175
31
1.7
Switzerland
457
-
5 F, 10 V
United Kingdom
986
300
05-Oct
United States of America
8 000
1 450
-
Bulk handling of buttercup squash for seafreight export

 

 

Source: FAO/ITC/CTA 2001 (2).

The organic market follows the trends of conventional products. Bananas and citrus fruit are generally the largest volume fruit imports. Other principal fruit imports are pineapples, mangoes, and avocados (but in lower quantities, as a result of more demanding storage requirements). The vegetable market is generally less developed.

1.3 Consumer Preferences
Unfortunately for developing countries, affluent consumers in Europe, USA and Japan prefer organic products from their own country or region. This partly reflects a distrust of other country’s certification systems; but in part may be a reaction to the view that transporting foodstuffs internationally is wasteful of fossil fuels. The UK and Belgium have smaller domestic organic production and consumers show less difference in trust between domestically-grown and imported organic products (3).

Given these consumer prejudices, the best opportunities for developing countries are likely to be found in their closest affluent market, for:

- fresh tropical or sub-tropical organic produce;

- fresh counter-seasonal temperate organic produce;

- processed organic produce which is in short supply.

 

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