Yesterday, Chile's Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Furche, the Deputy Prime Minister of Malta - the current President of the EU Council - Louis Grech, and the Commissioner for Climate Change and Energy, Miguel Angel Arias, signed in Brussels an equivalence of standards for the certification of organic products agreement between Chile and the European Union (EU).
In the document, the parties recognize in a reciprocal way the equivalence of the regulations in force in Chile and the 28 EU Member States in terms of organic certification. Thus, the organic products covered under this agreement that are produced in Chile may be marketed in the European Union without additional controls as is currently the case, avoiding double certification.
In addition, it will allow Chilean products to use the European organic labeling logo facilitating their identification by consumers, which will enable them to achieve worldwide recognition as reliable suppliers of organic products.
The world market for organic products is in constant growth: the demand for this type of food rises faster than the area under cultivation and, therefore, its availability. The signing of this agreement will allow Chilean organic producers to have an export niche that reaches 40% of the world market for organic products, with an annual growth rate of 6% and sales of more than US $24,000 million per year.
The agreement will also allow exporters to decrease the administrative burden associated with the certification process, reducing costs and improving the competitiveness of their products.
Minister Furche said the signing of this agreement was a milestone and that, even though the agreement's content was very technical, it had "a deep political significance: it is a reflection of our shared values and principles regarding our vision of individuals, society and the world, which had already been embodied in our successful association agreement of 2002, which we are currently modernizing."
The head of Agriculture said that "this agreement is another example of our commitment to sustainable development and especially to sustainable agriculture."
Yesterday morning, Minister Furche met with the Deputy Director General of Agriculture of the European Commission, Maria de los Angeles Benitez, with whom he discussed issues of mutual interest regarding trade between Chile and the bloc.
On that occasion, the Minister announced the priorities for the renegotiation of the agricultural sector in the framework of the ongoing modernization of the agreement.
Source: SimFRUIT according to CP Minagri