The European Union has yet to accord recognition to any certifying body (CB) for the import of unprocessed organic plants and plant products, including seeds and other reproductive material from India.
In a draft notification amending its regulation concerning the recognition of certain control bodies, the EU has, however, granted accreditation to four certifying bodies (CBs) for importing other organic produce from India.
However, one of these firms, Guatemala-based Mayacert S.A. is yet to be recognised by India.
Consequences
Not recognising any CB for importing unprocessed organic plants and plant products means Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term should see the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the EU expedited.
In particular, it should have a clause to treat Indian competent authority and CBs recognised by it as equivalent to the ones in the EU. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is India’s competent authority. “If the FTA with the EU is not signed before December 31, 2025, and the equivalence clause is not included Indian unprocessed organic products will have to go through testing on landing in the EU from January 1, 2026,” a trade expert said.
According to S. Chandrasekharan, the EU draft notification is a clear signal that Brussels “expectations exceed our current performance”. “The new political changes in the EU indicate that the organic agricultural policies are likely to undergo a paradigm shift,” he said.
The notification has recognised the Netherlands-based Control Union, French firm ECOCERT SAS and IMO Control Private Ltd besides Guatemala-based Mayacert S.A for the import of organic products that are not unprocessed organic plants and plant products.
2 firms under APEDA scanner
IMO Control Private Ltd is based in Bengaluru with a couple of investors buying Swiss-based IMO Control’s Indian unit.
Control Union was penalised ₹2 lakh by the sub-committee of the National Accreditation Body (NAB), managed by APEDA, in December 2023 for non-compliance in the certification process under the National Programme on Organic Production. ECOCERT was issued by the sub-committee for violating the compliance orders in 2021.
India’s organic produce certification standards have been unable to match the expectations of the EU and US since an improvement in the process is lacking to ensure offences in compliance do not recur.
Chandrasekharan said the Centre should make use of technology such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, besides tapping data to tackle such offences. APEDA, the NPOP nodal body, should raise the penalty for violations manifold since the current amount is meagre and not a deterrent.