Best Practices for Organic Policy - What developing country - UNEP

What developing country Governments can do to promote the organic agriculture sector
There are many technical hurdles for emerging organic food processors. Some are technological, e.g.
organic processing may need other technological solutions than conventional. Others are related to
inputs in mixed processed products. For example, it is common that there is a domestic production of
fruits, but there is no organic sugar available for making preserves such as marmalade. Trade channels
are not at all developed to import organic sugar to developing countries, and sometimes there are
quotas, tariffs or other obstacles for imports. Therefore, any organic processing standards need to
recognize and be adapted to the stage of development.
Imports of organic products, as shown in Malaysia and other countries, developed and developing
alike, can play a role for the development of the domestic organic markets. Imports can provide highquality
exposure to organics for domestic consumers, can be necessary raw material for processing
organics, and can have a demonstration effect (processed foods) or set benchmarks for the domestic
industry. An organic shop in Kenya reports that only 1 per cent of products sold are of domestic origin
(Kimemia and Oyare 2006). In the Philippines, the domestic organic industry is about US$ 2.5 million
and imports of processed organic food products are estimated at another US$ 3 million (USDA 2002).
In the initial stage, the domestic supply is often small, qualities doubtful and the level of processing
very low. In that scenario, the whole organic sector can get a boost from imported products – more
products will make both retailers and consumers more interested. As modern consumers are used to
year-round availability of most products, imports of off-season products can also stimulate the market.
This opportunity is often lost when the early organic market is moved by producer organizations and
NGOs, which rarely have imports on their priority list and sometimes outright reject imports as being
competition to local producers. There is also scope for the development of regional organic trade.
Imports of organic products to developing countries are to a very large extent from OECD countries
rather than from other developing countries. Even products that are produced in a neighbouring
country may very well be exported to Europe, processed or packaged and then imported 44 . In addition,
there are imports of raw material for processing, e.g. to both the United Republic of Tanzania and
Uganda organic sugar is imported from Europe (in turn imported from Latin America) to be used in
fruit processing for exports.
Certified, not certified and alternative guarantee systems
A number of the case studies (Malaysia, Thailand and South Africa) report considerable sales of noncertified
organic products. In some cases this is seen as a major problem, in other cases it is of no
great concern. There are also a number, probably increasing, of organic producers in markets with
mandatory regulations, that market organic food, but as a result of the regulation they are prevented
from making the organic claim. This is also reported from Costa Rica: “Thus, many farmers chose to
sell their products within the community, where they obtain better prices from direct sales to final
consumers and do not necessarily have certification expenditures”. If organic producers are prevented
from selling their products as organic, the result will be that they introduce other terms in their
marketplace, which may add to consumer confusion and weaken the organic market. In addition, there
are products sold with alternative guarantee systems (see Participatory Guarantee Systems above).
Whilst certification is likely to remain a very important mechanism for the development of the organic
market, these other approaches should not be overlooked and in particular it might be
counterproductive to make them unlawful by legislation.
Role of Government
The Government is normally not, and should probably not, get too involved in domestic markets,
apart from setting the general regulatory framework. However, when it comes to consumer education,
it is quite common that Governments promote the consumption of particular foods, for commercial or
health reasons. Consumer education for a healthy diet can also include the promotion of organic food.
General promotional activities have been supported in Costa Rica and Denmark and in many other
44 Observations from a number of countries, last reconfirmed in training with participants from 10 Asian
countries in Thailand in February 2006.
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