A press conference was held on 5th April 2017 at the Paris Agricultural Show to explain the reasons against the European regulations permitting the import of organic products under the equivalence regime.
The event was held at the Fédération Nationale du Crédit Agricole: Rue La Boétie, 48 - Paris, at 10:30 am.
The issue was raised by the Union of banana producers in Guadeloupe and Martinique (UGPBAN) and supported by the Federation of french cooperatives (FELCOOP).
The bodies in extra-EU countries certifying that the produce is organic follow local regulations, not European regulations.
This regime is misleading for consumers, who cannot distinguish between the organic products that comply with the requirements imposed on European producers and those from other countries that do not meet the requirements and are labelled as organic only under the equivalence regime.
According to UGPBAN President Eric de Lucy, "regardless of the type of production, this is a problem for ALL European producers. In fact, despite the fact that Europe has the highest production standards in the world, they will no longer be able to exploit them."
FELCOOP President Jean-Michel Delannoy added that "this is why we're against it. Working together is the only way to change this unfair regulation. We want to change it so that European and extra-European producers must comply with the same regulation."
The Italian position
Alleanza delle Cooperative Italiane, represented by Davide Vernocchi, also took part.
"The reason why we want the European regulation to change and therefore why we chose to stand with FELCOOP is very simple. We believe the products from extra-EU countries must comply with our regulations. Not only in the fresh produce segment, but in the entire food sector."
"The EC Regulation no. 834/2007 in force reviewed the import system and based it on recognising the equivalence of both the production and control systems of the products coming from extra-EU countries."
"It is important to stress the limitations and serious consequences of this system: this regime implies the equivalence of productive systems that are substantially different. The environmental and phytosanitary requirements in extra-EU countries never match European standards."
"Of course, by labelling EU and extra-EU products in the same way, consumers are deceived and it constitutes unfair competition at the damage of European producers."
This regime, therefore, does not guarantee the compatibility with the European organic production method and does not ensure the rigour and transparency required by consumers.
Adding insult to injury
"It is also worth remembering that only a few extra-EU countries recognised by the EU recognise the EU itself as equivalent! Of the 12 extra-EU countries recognised by the EU, only 7 recognise us as equivalent."
"This is definitely an obstacle to trade as well as a critical element in terms of fair competition. It penalises the entire sector."
"We have been reporting this lack of reciprocity for years, and it goes well beyond the organic sector. We have tried to get the Commission to help eliminate export and tariff barriers, as they often impede or delay the possibility of conquering new markets."
Worries for the new EU regulation
According to Davide Vernocchi, the situation could get worse as the Commission is proposing to implement the conformity of extra-EU certification and control systems and the fear is that it might not be able to do so without compromise.
"This is why we applaud the recent letter sent by FELCOOP President Delannoy to Commissioner Hogan. We need to ask European institutions to intervene as this is also a political issue. We cannot accept that the vision of strong importer countries such as the North European countries compromises our businesses and producers. The rules applied to European producers should be applied to imported products as well."
Regulating imports in market with a growing demand
Consider that, according to the data published in Italy by Mipaad, organic produce importers have increased by 20% in 2015. "This confirms that we need to focus on guaranteeing that imported products have the same characteristics of domestic ones, especially as they can use the same logo."
"In addition, the growing demand of organic products means we need to improve organisation and enhance domestic production to safeguard producers and provide added value to our products."
"We cannot and we don't want to block imports, but we can regulate them better. We cannot accept that, despite having the highest production and safety standards in the world, we cannot promote it with consumers."
"Together with FELCOOP and Cooperativas Agroalimentarias we want to achieve a change in the regulation without compromise. Extra-EU countries wanting to use the EU logo on their organic products must comply with European regulations."