Area of organic land and number of operators decreased in Ukraine

In 2022, the area of land* certified by organic certification bodies decreased by 38% and amounted to 0.6% of the total agricultural land in Ukraine.

As of 31 December 2022, there were 263,619 ha of land under organic management (organic and in-conversion) certified under the equivalent EU organic standard and NOP (USA).

Several factors contributed to the reduction in organic certified land. Since the beginning of the large-scale war a significant amount of land has been lost due to the occupation Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts.

There were also changes in the work of foreign certification bodies. Several bodies stopped their operations in Ukraine due to the inability to control the activities of operators and, in particular, to conduct physical certification inspections. Others lost the right to certify in Ukraine.

These factors also contributed to the contraction in the number of organic operators. Although some operators switched to other certification bodies, most of them stopped their organic activities. These were mainly suppliers to large traders who exported by sea.

Certainly, the large-scale war also had an impact on the number of operators, with a significant decrease in the number of organic operators in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, as well as in other frontline oblasts.

In total, as of the end of 2022, there were 462 operators, 380 of whom were agricultural producers (a 12% decrease in the number of operators compared to 2021).

It is important to note that, thanks to the timely support of international projects and partners, it was possible to retain a significant number of operators, support not only their certification but also give impetus to further development.

Kateryna Shor, OrganicInfo.ua

* The operational monitoring data collected by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine from foreign certification bodies which certified organic production and circulation of organic products in Ukraine.

The map is developed by Information Center “Green Dossier” (OrganicInfo.ua) and Organic Standard (Ukraine) 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).

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We invite you to read and use the updated infographic on important indicators of the domestic market and export of organic products from Ukraine:

Area of organic land and number of operators decreased in Ukraine — results of 2022

As of 31 December 2022, there were 263,619 ha of land under organic management (organic and in-conversion) certified under the equivalent EU organic standard and NOP (USA).

In total, as of the end of 2022, there were 462 operators, 380 of whom were agricultural producers (a 12% decrease in the number of operators compared to 2021).

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