Domestic market
According to data of the operational monitoring, conducted by the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine from certification bodies that certified organic production and circulation of organic products in Ukraine in accordance with a standard equivalent to Council Regulation (EU) No 834/2007 and NOP (USA) as of 31.12.2021, the total area of agricultural land under organic production and in-conversion is 422,299 hectares (1% of the total area of agricultural land in Ukraine), including the area of organic agricultural land – 370,110 hectares, the area of agricultural land in-conversion – 52,189 hectares. The total number of operators is 528, including 418 agricultural producers.
In recent years, the domestic organic consumer market continues to expand through the biggest supermarket chains. The main organic products that are consumed are milk and dairy products, vegetables, fruits and mushrooms, cereals and groats, flour, seeds, juices, beverages, pastes, canned products, eggs, meat products, oils, condiments and spices, sugar and other products, including bakery products, varenyky (dumplings with different fillings), pelmeni (meat dumplings), honey, chocolate and tea.
In 2021 on the domestic market of Ukraine 9,780 tons of organic products have been sold in the amount of about UAH 900 million (equivalent to USD 33 million at the NBU exchange rate as of 31.12.2021) (according to the Organic Market Survey in Ukraine, which was conducted by Organic Standard in partnership with Organicinfo.ua with the support of Switzerland within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian programs “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP) and “Organic Trade for Development” (OT4D)).
For more details about the domestic organic market follow the link.
Export
Export of organic products from Ukraine is focused mainly on the European countries, where Ukraine exported 82% of its total organic export in 2021.
According to the European Commission Report, Ukraine ranked the 5th out of 126 countries by volume of organic products imported to the EU. Thus, in 2021 the EU imported 2.87 million tons of organic agri-food products from different countries, including 190 thousand tons (6.6%) from Ukraine.
According to the above-mentioned Organic Market Survey, in 2021 Ukraine exported organic products to the EU in the amount of approximately 160 million US dollars.
In total, in 2021 Ukraine exported 260 thousand tons of organic products in the amount of about 220 million US dollars to more than 30 countries. The largest importing countries of the Ukrainian organic products in this period were the Netherlands, USA, Lithuania, Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, UK, Italy, Denmark. The Ukrainian producers also exported their organic products to some Asian countries, in particular, China, Japan and Malaysia, and also to the United Arab Emirates.
The main organic export products from Ukraine were cereals, oilseeds and berries. In addition, Ukraine exports sunflower cake, sunflower oil, sunflower meal, concentrated apple juice, hulled millet, vegetables and fruits. In total, more than 80 organic products were exported from Ukraine in 2021.
For more details about organic export from Ukraine follow the link.
Legislative regulation of the organic market in Ukraine
Organic production in Ukraine is regulated by the Law of Ukraine “On Basic Principles and Requirements for Organic Production, Circulation and Labelling of Organic Products” (hereinafter - the Law) and relevant by-laws.
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine carries out practical measures regarding the implementation of organic legislation. Thus, at the beginning of 2022, the Ministry, in accordance with the requirements of Article 30 of the Law, conducted qualification exams for the candidates who intend to become inspectors in organic production. The examinations included testing of theoretical knowledge of the general requirements of Ukrainian legislation in organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products, and specific knowledge in the relevant field(s) of organic production. By examinations results 31 persons received the certificate of inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products. This enabled certification bodies that intend to be included in the Register of Certification Bodies and to carry out certification of organic production in accordance with the requirements of the Ukrainian legislation in this sector, to start fulfilling the next requirement of Article 28 of the Law – accreditation by the National Accreditation Agency of Ukraine.
Cooperation with international technical assistance projects
Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine cooperates with international projects that aim at the development of organic production and circulation of organic products in Ukraine, in particular:
1. Swiss-Ukrainian program “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP), financed by Switzerland and implemented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland) in partnership with SAFOSO AG (Switzerland).
2. Project “German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Agriculture” (COA).
3. Program “Organic Trade for Development in Eastern Europe” (OT4D), financed by Switzerland through Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by IFOAM - Organics International in partnership HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland).
4. EU Project “Institutional and Policy Reform for Smallholder Agriculture” (IPRSA)
5. USAID Program “Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities” (AGRO).
The project/program representatives provide their expertise during development of the organic legislative framework and implementation of the legislation in the field of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products, support various activities related to organic production.
Within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian project “Organic Market Development in Ukraine” the video about organic production “Organic in Ukraine” was created to promote organic production in Ukraine among potential Ukrainian producers and foreign investors.
With the support of the project “German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Agriculture” (COA) various workshops on organic production are held for the specialists of the Ministry, State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, and National Accreditation Agency of Ukraine. In particular, in 2021, within the framework of the pilot project, implemented together with the Main Directorate of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection in Poltava oblast, the trainings on control in organic production are envisaged, aimed at both gaining theoretical knowledge and its practical implementation during onsite visits to the organic farms. The training activities and workshops continue in 2022.
In addition, with the support of QFTP and COA, in 2020-2021 two specialized fairs “ORGANIC” and two conferences “Organic: Knowledge, Experience, Result” were organized in cooperation with Organic Federation of Ukraine within the framework of International Agro-Industrial Exhibitions “AGRO” (August 2020 and June 2021), as well as two All-Ukrainian Organic Fairs (September 2020 and 2021).
With the support of QFTP in partnership with Organic Ukraine NGO, two congresses “Organic Ukraine” (April 2020 and 2021) were organised; jointly with the State Institution “Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office” (EEPO) it was held the online event “Ukrainian Organic Export Days 2021” (September-October 2021), organised a collective stand of the Ukrainian organic exporters at the trade fair “Organic & Natural Expo Middle East” in Dubai, UAE (6-8 December, 2021).
In addition, with the support of QFTP, specialists of the Ministry jointly with Organic Ukraine NGO and the state oblast administrations held 48 regional forums “Organic Ukraine” in 24 oblasts of Ukraine (June-September 2020, April-August 2021).
Specialists of the Ministry, State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection and EEPO within the framework of QFTP participated in the study tour, the Central and Eastern Europe Congress Session “Organic Policy and the New CAP, Plans and Strategies in the CEE Countries”, Control Bodies Round Table “The Organic Law of Ukraine and its Requirements for Organic Control Bodies” within the framework of the International Organic Trade Fair “BioFach" (February 2020), as well as online fair “BioFach eSpecial” (February 2021).
In 2021, with the support of OT4D, was launched an Organic Leadership Course in Ukraine – this is the first specialized course aimed to support existing and potential leaders who search for truly sustainable changes in agriculture.
During 2022, with the support of QFTP and OT4D, there were organised the international online conferences “Organic Export During the War” (23.06.2022) and “Organic Day in Ukraine” (23.09.2022). And in July 2022, with the support of these programs, the representatives of the State Institution “Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office” visited “BioFach” and made presentations at 3 events: CEE session “Organic targets in the shadow of war. How does the military conflict affect agricultural policies of the CEE region?”, panel discussion “Organic farming in Ukraine 5 months after the beginning of the war – status quo and outlook”, and session “Accelerating the development Organic Sector in Eastern Europe”.
Moreover, specialists of the Ministry together with the representatives of QFTP, OrganicInfo, Organic Standard, Organic Ukraine NGO, Information Centre “Green Dossier” prepared general publications about organic market development in Ukraine for the international community and Ukrainian users: Organic Map of Ukraine, information about organic production in Ukraine for the FiBL-IFOAM publication “The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2021”, and the overview of the organic market in Ukraine (domestic market and export).