No organic meat product imported into Ireland in 2025 - DAFM
No meat products were included in the 47,000t of organic produce imported into Ireland last year, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Brian McGee, principal officer at DAFM, told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food the organic products that came into the country were mainly "tea, coffee, chocolate, animal feed and wine".
The committee heard that the organic animal feed is mainly coming from England.
"All organic products, whether they're made in the union or made in an equivalent country, have to be certified. The certification bodies are on a list of approved certification bodies by the [European] commission," McGee said.
Imports
Niall Ryan, DAFM agricultural inspector, said that before any product from a third country is allowed to come into the EU the exporter of that product must create "a certificate of inspection".
This requires all documentation to be presented, including the supplier and licensing details.
In response to Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice, Ryan said there is a 100% "paper check" carried out on all organic produce entering Ireland.
"There is a physical check, every good that comes in is looked at. They may not be tested, but they're looked at to see that they're all labelled correctly.
"We will not leave a product into the country, if its an organic product that arrives in our port or Dublin Airport or somewhere else in our border control points unless that is physically inspected to have all the necessary labels and paperwork," he said.
The committee was told that the EU has identified products from countries that are deemed "high risk".
"We have taken samples from third countries, where we have found tiny, tiny traces of a pesticide in those," Ryan said.
"If we find a situation where when we do a sample from a product from a third country, and we find that a tiny pesticide residue, that product cannot be sold as organic.
"If that residue level is within the EU legislation permitted limit for conventional, the importer can downgrade that product and sell it as conventional, or in most cases, they destroy the product," he added.
Organic proposals
The committee met to discuss European Commission proposals to amend the existing organics regulation on production, labelling and certification rules, and certain rules on trade with third countries.
Brian McGee said "it is now necessary to make targeted adjustments to certain production rules to create a more efficient, effective, and user-friendly regulatory framework".
The committee heard the commission believes the regulation "could be simplified in a targeted manner".
This would include organic farmers being deemed to be compliant with six of the nine Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) related to soil, soil health and habitat protection.
McGee said that the "targeted adjustments" relating to trade arose from a European Court of Justice ruling which "redefined what equivalence means".
The court found that foodstuffs imported from third countries can only use the bloc's organic production logo if, in addition to equivalence, they comply with certain additional production and control requirements.
He said the commission is proposing further steps that 11 recognised third countries will have to take in order to be deemed equivalent.
"So they're raising the bar effectively, and in raising the bar ensures fairness for for European farmers," he said.
He noted that Europe currently exports more organic produce than it imports.
"As we look at what's imported into Europe, it's really not so much competing products coming in. It's actually products we don't make, like pineapples and bananas, coffee, chocolate," he said.
Third countries
The proposed measures also seek to postpone the expiry date for the recognition of the 11 third countries whose organic production and control systems have been proven as equivalent to those of the EU to December 31, 2036.
The commission believes this will allow enough time to "ensure a smooth transition to the scheme of recognition of third countries through international agreements".
"If the equivalence arrangements were to expire on December 31, 2026, it would be more difficult to continue current trade with the equivalent third countries concerned.
"This would be particularly detrimental to EU operators, as the EU enjoys a positive trade balance with those third countries," McGee said.
The committee requested additional information on the organic production standards in the 11 third countries from DAFM and agreed to defer a decision on the proposal to their next meeting.
Organic beef
The committee also heard that Ireland is the third fastest growing organic production country in Europe, but is third from bottom in terms of the area used for organic farming.
In the past five years, the number of farmers in the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) has double and the amount of land being farmed organically has tripled to 248,000ha (5.5% of agricultural land).
McGee said there is currently a 30% gap between supply and demand in Europe for organic beef.
"Consumers are looking for it, and they are paying for it at the cash register. Over the long term, organics will pay off for farmers.
"In my very strong view, I think it's a premium segment of the market. It's the top shelf," he said.
