CHINA: PLANNED GROWTH RATES OF 30 – 50 %
The demand for organic products in China is growing, but is restricted mainly to the centres of Peking, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing. As reported by the ZMP Organic Market Forum, however, the organic market accounts for only 0.1 % of the total market. The production volume is estimated at 3.85 million t. The organic share of land is to increase to 1 – 3 % within the next ten years with annual growth rates of 30 % – 50 % and the export share is to top the 5 % mark by then. The target for domestic consumption is an organic share of 1 – 1.5 %. BioFach China takes place in Shanghai from 29 – 31.5.2008.. [+] 

THE WORLD OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE: 2.3 MILLION HA OF ORGANIC LAND IN CHINA
“The World of Organic Agriculture 2008”, a compendium of statistics published annually, reports on the worldwide development of organic agriculture. In China, for example, there were some 2.3 million ha of organic land in 2006, farmed by 1600 agricultural companies. The organic share of agricultural land was 0.41 %.
The comprehensive work has been produced by Helga Willer, Minou Yussefi-Menzler and Neil Sorensen and the paperback edition comprises 267 pages. 8.[+]

CHINA ORGANIC AGRICULTURE EXPECTS BIG GROWTH
China Organic Agriculture is among the largest producers of green and organic rice in China. The company controls all aspects of the process from developing seeds to planting, processing, R&D and distribution. It has an extensive sales network located in the major cities in China.
China Organic Agriculture has experienced significant growth since its inception in 2002. The quality of its products results in the ability to obtain prices approximately 15% higher than comparables. The company’s flagship brand, ErMaPao, has won several quality awards. The company’s revenue in 2007 was $44.5 million, a 390% increase over $9.0 million for the comparable period of 2006. “As we enter 2008, we expect to fully benefit from agreements executed last year,” said Huizhi Xiao, Chairman of China Organic Agriculture.[+]

THAI ORGANIC COMPANY EXPANDS TO LAOS
River Kwai International Food Industry, the country's leading sweet corn and vegetable exporter in Thailand, has expanded its organic farming into Laos as part of its ambitious plan to become the regional supplier of organic agricultural products in the region. ''This is just the first step of our group to become the regional supplier of organic fruit and vegetables,'' said Soonthorn Sritawee, chief operating officer of River Kwai International. ''We are ready to expand more in other neighbouring countries to help produce steady supplies to our group.''
The group will invest at least 20 million baht (412,000 EUR) to support organic farming 100 kilometres from the Thai border, said Mr Soonthorn. The group expects its organic farming business will grow about 20% this year to 120-130 million baht (2.5 m EUR) driven by strong demand for organic products both in the country and the world market. The Thai Agriculture Ministry has recently announced plans to increase organic farm acreage by at least 40% to 32,000 ha over the next two years to tap into the higher demand in world markets, reported the Bangkok Post.

ORGANIC STANDARDS FOR THE PACIFIC REGION
A group of experts from the Pacific are working to create a set of standards that would enable the region's organic farmers to market their products internationally. Organic certification and standards that are currently in draft form would allow the region to tap into the growing global organic market.
Last year, Fiji joined the growing list of Pacific countries that have established national organics associations to facilitate entry into the global market. The Fiji Organics Association (FOA) has about 40 members, and more farmers were being encouraged to get involved in organic farming. Currently certified by FOA are cold-pressed coconut oil, spices from Spices of Fiji Limited and noni juice. The Regional Organic Task Force is responsible for drawing up suitable regional standards. [+]

THAILAND AIMS TO BE LEADER IN ORGANIC SHRIMP PRODUCTION
Thailand takes a step closer to becoming one of the world's leading production and exporting countries for premium-grade organic shrimps. The newly established Organic Agricultural and Farm Products Certification Office at the Fisheries Department will be the national body for accrediting organic farm products for export. Although Thailand is already the world's largest shrimp exporter, with a target to export as many as 340,000 tonnes of shrimps this year, the volume of organic shipments remains far too small to serve the growing demand from the developed world.
Supported by the German Agency for Technical Co-operation GTZ, Sureerath Farm in Chanthaburi has proved a success as a pilot farm and has produced organic black tiger prawns for export to Switzerland and Germany that could fetch prices about 30% higher than for normal shrimps. Now there are five groups ready to produce a combined 1,073 tonnes of shrimps per year.[+]

EU CHAMPIONS: DANISH CONSUMERS LEAD ORGANIC CONSUMPTION
Each Danish consumer spends an average of 80 euros a year on organic food. This makes Danish consumers the champions when it comes to organic consumption in the EU. Especially organic dairy products attract Danish consumers to the counter. No less than 40 % of organic sales stem from dairy products, which accounts for a total estimated 1bn Dkr (134m EUR). As far as total organic consumption in Europe is concerned, Danish consumers still only occupy third place after Switzerland and Liechtenstein, where the average inhabitant spends 102 and 86 euros respectively on organic food. Denmark is Country of the Year at BioFach in Nuremberg in 2009.[+]

POSITIVE SIGNS FOR BIOFACH AMÉRICA LATINA AND EXPO SUSTENTAT 2008
With over 840,000 ha of farming land, Brazil is one of the Top Ten international organic producers and a major supplier of raw materials, fruit and vegetables, coffee, cocoa, cane sugar and soya. Brazil’s organic farming area has more than trebled since 2001 (275,000 ha). Both export business and the domestic market show substantial growth. New legal regulations for the organic sector are now to be implemented within two years according to a decree by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Up-to-date information on this is available from an interview with Maria Beatriz Costa, Executive Vice President of Planeta Orgânico, on the new legislation, market developments and her expectations for 2008.[+]

FRANCE CELEBRATES ORGANIC SPRING
In the first fourteen days of June, there will be hundreds of events, information days and tastings throughout France: on public squares, in schools, in conventional food retailers and in organic food stores. An excellent opportunity for consumers to get to know farmers, manufacturers and players in the organic trade. This year’s Printemps Bio campaign, which is coordinated by the semi-public Agence Bio, will be supported for the first time by five agricultural federations. The Printemps Bio campaigns for the period 2008-2010 are co-funded by the EU. [+]

SPAIN: ORGANIC MEALS IN GRANADA HOSPITAL
In the “Virgen de las Nieves” hospital in Granada, more than 1,100 breakfast portions a day are prepared exclusively from organic food. This is Spain’s first hospital that has decided to offer its patients organic meals, based on a programme for social institutions passed by the Andalusian government’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Health and the Environment. This resulted in two new organic processing companies being set up.
The programme is accompanied by an information campaign so that patients know the advantages for their health and the environment. Another hospital in Génave (Jaén) has joined the Andalusian government’s initiative this year, plus about a hundred institutions like after-school care centres, schools and old people’s homes, which would like to convince almost 10,000 guests of the benefits of Andalusian organic products.[+]

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[*] The importance of organic products continues to grow in Turkey’s farming sector and Izmir is to become the new national center for organic agriculture.

 
[*] Ireland plans organic food boom: Trevor Sargent, the Green Minister of State for Food and Horticulture, announced that the party aimed at increasing organic production in the country more than fivefold by 2012 with a new national organic strategy. The organic market was worth 66 million euros in 2006, but would rise to 400 million euros by 2012.