Brussels, 09/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and the government of Colombia announced on Tuesday 9 February that negotiations had been opened on a bilateral agreement on trade in organic products.
An agreement of this sort would allow a larger market for organic farmers, reduce the administrative burden on companies and ensure availability of more organic products to consumers. The announcement was made during the official visit of European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan to Colombia.
Although not part of the trade agreement in force since 2013 between the EU and Colombia and Peru, this new agreement will form part of the privileged relationship of cooperation and trade facilitation that has been established since then. The organic sector in the European Union has been rapidly developing in recent years, with a total area of 10.3 million hectares cultivated as organic in 2014 compared to 6.4 million hectares in 2005 (an average yearly growth of 5.5% over a 10-year period). The organic area represented nearly 6% of the total utilised agricultural area in 2014. The Council and the Parliament are currently negotiating a compromise on the proposal reviewing the rules on organic production. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)