Import and export of organic products - requirements and process

Import from third countries

Organic products from countries outside the EU may be placed on the EU market as organic only under strict control of the entire chain. The importer and the first consignee must be certified in the EU. Every consignment must be accompanied by an electronic certificate of inspection (Certificate of Inspection, COI) in the TRACES system in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/2306.

Import regimes

• Compliance: the producer is certified under the EU rules by a control body recognised by the European Commission for the third country and product category concerned.
• Equivalence: the product comes from a country whose system is recognised as equivalent (for example, under a trade agreement). The recognition of some third countries has a transitional period and is currently being renegotiated.

That is why, before every transaction, we check whether the supplier and its control body are on the current EU lists.

Main import requirements

• a valid certificate of the foreign supplier covering the product;
• a certificate of inspection (COI) in TRACES for each consignment, endorsed by the competent authority at border control before the goods are released for free circulation;
• a check on receipt: integrity of the packaging, labels, consistency with the documents, recording of the result;
• records that allow each consignment to be traced to the customer;
• notification in case of suspected non-compliance and separation of the consignment until the matter is clarified.

Export

When exporting outside the EU, the product must meet the requirements of the country of destination. We provide certificates and documents for the operators certified by us:

• USA (NOP): a NOP import certificate for each consignment under the EU-US arrangement. The certificate must be issued before the consignment leaves the EU. No separate NOP certification is needed, but there are additional conditions - for example, products of animal origin require an additional certificate of non-use of antibiotics.
• Switzerland (Bio Suisse): for products bearing the BIOSUISSE ORGANIC label.
• Sweden (KRAV): verification of the additional KRAV requirements.
• Other markets: we provide information on the requirements and documents depending on the country.

What is inspected on site

The inspector checks the certificates of foreign suppliers, the certificates of inspection and the other consignment documents, the receipt records, the purchase and sales records and the stock in storage. He or she traces selected consignments and draws up a balance of quantities.

Documents

• application, contract and annual production programme;
• list of foreign suppliers and their certificates;
• certificates of inspection (COI) and customs documents;
• records of purchases, sales and stock;
• requests for export certificates (when exporting).

Price

The fee consists of a basic annual fee and an hourly rate for control. Export certificates are charged separately, with different rates for the first ten and for the following ones. The exact amounts are in our price list.