On the 28th of June, the French Council of State repealed the provision banning the marketing of organic summer vegetables grown in heated greenhouses between December 21st and April 30th, on the grounds that it legally placed French producers in a situation of competitive distortion in relation to imported products. The administrative judge ordered INAO (French National Institute for Origins and Quality) to “repeal these statements within 15 days of notification of the decision.”
In July 2019, the INAO's CNAB (French National Committee for Organic Farming) had adopted provisions aimed at regulating the heating of greenhouses for the organic cultivation of summer vegetables (tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, zucchinis, peppers), and banned their marketing between December 21st and April 30th in order to respect “natural cycles and seasonality.”
Felcoop and Légumes de France had asked INAO to reverse its decision, and when it failed to do so, decided to take the matter to the Council of State.
The INAO decision has prompted reactions from a number of organic producers. “This decision was an aberration! We have growers with greenhouses that are not heated, or only in case of emergency, in order to save the plants when the temperatures are negative, for example, but not to grow and eat tomatoes in February. It is obvious that organic growers would not grow tomatoes in the middle of December.” The INAO decision was prompted by a number of abuses. “Some opportunists were selling tomatoes in the middle of winter!”
In its decision, the supreme administrative court noted that, in accordance with European regulation 2018/848, “the national authorities are not competent to enact national provisions reiterating, clarifying or supplementing this regulation.”
In a press release this week, the French Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty claimed to be “taking note of the Council of State’s decision [...] The minister will continue to support organic farmers in their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and store more carbon in the soil.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty will continue to promote organic farming within European bodies, in a way that respects the environment and natural cycles, in line with consumer expectations, and in a context of harmonized regulations at the European level.”