This year Ukraine has joined the celebration of the EU Organic Day and the international Organic September movement, took part in the global #IGrowYourFood Action Day and received the first organic product labelled with the Ukrainian state organic logo.
Back in 1994, the UK’s Soil Association was the first to celebrate and introduce the concept of Organic September to raise awareness about the benefits of organic food and organic agriculture. The name “Organic September” was only adopted in 2012 though, and before that the campaign was known as “Organic Harvest Month”. Later, Organic September grew into a real international movement that promotes organic food and healthy lifestyle.
For Ukraine, of course, the harvest festival is not a novelty, but rather a long-standing tradition associated primarily with the end of the harvest, so joining this international movement seems quite natural. For several years Ukraine has held the Organic Weeks, but they did not attract the attention that this year’s Organic September has.
In Ukraine, Organic September began with the Fair of Organic and Natural Products which took place in Lviv on the first weekend of September. The fair is a traditional event organised by Lviv City Public Organization “Ecoterra” and is held under the patronage of Lviv Regional Military Administration.
On 14 September Ukraine joined the global #IGrowYourFood Action Day. The campaign, launched in 2019 by IFOAM – Organics International, aims to draw attention to organic producers around the world and give them the opportunity to tell their stories. This year, under the coordination of Organic Initiative Public Association, 7 Ukrainian organic producers joined the Action Day, and their stories were heard on different continents.
Throughout September, Silpo retail chain tells its guests about organic production and offers discounts on organic products, helping to raise consumer awareness about the benefits of organic food. And on 23 and 24 September guests of the chain were able to visit the Organic September festival in Kyiv to meet the producers and taste their products. Watch the news report on ICTV to find out how it was.
Labelling of the first organic product with the Ukrainian state organic logo became important news.
This product is organic Carpathian herbal tea from Molfar Eco LLC, which will soon be offered by the Ukrainian Railway in its trains. Until now the company has only offered conventional tea. This is an important marketing step for both the producer and the entire organic sector.
Ukraine has officially joined the celebration of the EU Organic Day for the second time.
On 25 September 2023 the conference of the same name, which was organized by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and Organic Initiative Public Association, gathered over 200 participants from Ukraine and the world to hear the latest news of the sector and discuss the prospects for further development.
According to the Ministry’s operational monitoring data, due to the full-scale invasion the area of organic agricultural land in Ukraine has decreased. As of 31 December 2022, there were 263,619 ha of certified organic land, which is 38% less than in 2021. The share of land under organic management in the total amount of agricultural land was 0.6%.
The number of organic operators also decreased to 462, 380 of which were agricultural producers, according to the results of the 2022 monitoring. However, thanks to timely support from international projects and partners, the number of operators decreased by only 12%.
According to Organic Standard LLC, there was an expected decline in sales on the domestic market, with total sales of organic products of own production amounting to UAH 627 million compared to UAH 900 million in 2021 (about 30%). Sales volumes in 2022 amounted to 6,280 tonnes compared to 9,780 tonnes in 2021 (drop by about 34%). Nevertheless, the conference participants noted a certain recovery on the organic market in the first half of 2023.
At the same time, sales of organic products by category remained almost unchanged, with dairy products in the first place, followed by vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, and cereals, flour, seeds and snacks in the third place.
During the conference the first Ukrainian organic producers certified according to the Ukrainian organic legislation were awarded. The State Register now includes about 50 companies and is growing steadily.
Full post release and conference materials are available here.
Organic September continues, but not only September can be organic!
Kateryna Shor, OrganicInfo.ua