Taiwan organic

Organic Farming for Sustainable Agriculture in Asia
With Special Reference to Taiwan experience
Sung-Ching Hsieh
Chair Professor, Research Institute of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation,
National Pingtung University of Science and Technology
Abstract
Organic agriculture has been increased rapidly world wide in last few years. The global organic food sale was estimated to be US$26 billion in 2003. Japan has the third largest market for organic foods after EU and the USA. In Asia total area under organic management shared only 0.33 percent in six continents of the world, however it increased to be 4 percent in 2004 which is a ten-fold increase in 3 years. According to IFOAM (2003), land area under organic management in Asia was the largest in China (301,295 ha) followed by Indonesia (40,000ha), Sri Lanka (15,215 ha), Japan (5,083 ha), Thailand (3,429 ha), Pakistan (2,009), Taiwan (1,092 ha), Republic of Korea (902 ha) and Malaysia (131 ha).
Organic standard law is essential to ensure the quality of organic product. Recently, Japan revised its organic standard regulations into more strict legislated law in which a penalty measure is added to punish the violators of organic labeling regulations. Other Asian countries (China, India, Israel, Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Thailand) also implemented their own organic regulations but not yet put in legislation to be an official law. Malaysia finalized regulation, but not yet fully implemented, while Indonesia, Malaysia and other Asian countries are either in process of drafting regulations or no action is taken at all.
In Taiwan, Council of Agriculture officially accredited three NGOs as the Organic Food Certification Organizations in Taiwan. Until June 2003, a total of 1092.4 hectares of land were certified by these organizations to be organic farms to produce various organic foods (rice, vegetables, fruits, tea and others). Import of organic foods mainly from Japan and USA is increasing in Taiwan in recent years. The imported and locally produced organic foods are sold through supermarket, organic healthy food stores, and agribusiness scale chain stores and through e-commerce. Although Taiwan has its official version of organic standard promulgated in 2003, however, there is no penalty regulation for the violators of the law for organic labeling. This will cast doubt of the consumers whether the organic foods on the market are really organically grown.

Modern agriculture depends on high input of chemical fertilizer and pesticides for crop production. Although such technology based agricultural practice has increased agricultural productivity and abundance, the resulting ecological and economical impacts have not always been positive. Environmental pollution and food safety due to chemical contamination become the great concern worldwide. In order to cope with this problem, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) proposed “The World Food Summit Plan of Action (1999)” in recognition with the importance of developing alternative sustainable agriculture such as organic farming. The goal of Action Plan is to reduce environmental degradation while creating income from the farming operation. Organic farming is an integrated farming system which involved technical aspects (soil. agronomy, weed and pest management) and economic aspects (input, output and marketing) as well as human health.
Chemical free safety foods produced from the organic farms are widely welcomed by the consumers around the world today, especially in North America, Europe, South America, Asia and Oceania. Due to the great global market demand, production of organic foods is increasing rapidly in past decades. According to Hanuman (2003) of Organic Trade Association (OTA), US retail sales of organic foods and beverages, which have grown approximately 20-24 % per year for the past 12 years, are estimated to have reached slightly US$ 11 billion during 2002, representing about 2 percent of overall US retail food sales. The US market is expected to continue to grow, particularly after full implementation of national organic standards. According to estimation, the sale of organic products in North America and Europe will reach US$105 billion in 2006.
Organic production is also becoming a booming industry in Asia and Oceania. The area of organic farm in Japan increased to 5,083 hectares which produced organic foods at a value of US$3.5 million in 2003. In Taiwan the area of certified organic farm increased from 159.6 hectares in 1996 to 1,092.4 hectares in 2003. Australia has a total organic area of 10,500,000 hectares which is the largest in the world. Other Asian countries like China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, the area of organic farming is rising from year to year. There are strict organic certification laws in the Unites States, EU, Australia and Japan, and each has its own official organic law which serves the sole guideline for high quality organic production. While other Asian countries like China, India, Israel, Thailand and Taiwan although have their own official version of organic standards and rules, but not yet become the legislated laws to put penalty for the violators. Most of other Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore even do not have organic standards yet (IFOAM 2003).
This paper is to look into the present situation of global organic production and marketing, including that of the Unites States and European countries. The paper is specially focusing on the recent development of organic farming in the Asian countries, including Japan, China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Taiwan experience of organic production and marketing system are reviewed in more detail with the most recent available data. The positive and negative factors affecting development of organic production and marketing in Asia such as certification system are discussed.

1. Overview of global organic farming

According to SOL-Survey, Oceania has the largest share (48.51%) of total area under organic management in 2001. The share is reduced to be 42 percent in 2004. This is due to the expansion of organic farming in Asia from 0.33 percent in 2001 to 4 percent in 2004 which is ten fold increases in three years. The area of the farm under organic management in Latin America shared 20 percent in 2001 and increased to be 24 percent in 2004 which is the second largest organic area after Oceania. Europe shared 23.58 percent in 2001 and 23 percent in 2004. Europe remained to be the same rate of shares between the year of 2001 (23.58 %) and 23 % (2004) which is the third largest continent to grow organic products in the world. North America shared 6 percent in 2004, which is the fourth largest continent to grow organic crops in the world. It is worth noticing that the natural resource poor African continent is increasing its operation of organic farming in recent years. The total area under organic management in Africa shared a small portion of 0.14 percent in 2001 and increased to 1 percent in 2004 (Figures 1).
Ten countries with the largest land area under organic management in 2003 include Australia (10,500,000 ha), Argentina (3,192,000 ha), Italy (1,230,000 ha), USA (950,000 ha), England (679,631 ha), Uruguay (678,481 ha), Germany (632,165 ha), Spain (485.079 ha), Canada (430,600 ha) and France (419,750 ha). The land under organic management in the world increased drastically from 2000 to 2003. The increase of organic farm in Australia contributed greatly to the largest share of organic farm in Oceania (from 654,924 ha in 2000 to10,500, 000 ha in 2003). Uruguay becomes the world sixth largest area of 678,481 hectares in 2004 pushing Austria out the top ten countries( No 9 in 2000) (Figures 2).
According to Organic Consumers’ Association (2004), the world markets for organic foods and beverages are the largest in the USA with the retail sales of US$11,000-13,000 million in 2003. The annual growth is expected to be 0.5 percent. Europe has a retail sale of US$10,000-11,000 million in 2003 with the expected annual growth of 10-15 percent in 2003-2005. Japan has a retail sale of US$350-450 million in 2003 with the expected annual growth of 5-10 percent. Australia has the largest share of organic farm in the world; the organic products are mainly exported to Europe, USA and Japan. It has US$75-100 million retail sale within the country with the expected annual growth of 10-20 percent in 2003-2005. Global total retail sale in 2003 was estimated to be US$23,000-25,000 (Table 1).
Table 1. Overview of world markets for organic foods and beverages in 2003
Markets Retail sales 2003 (million US$) Annual growth 2003-2005(%)
USA 11,000-13000 0-5
Europe(Total) 10,000-11,000 10-15
Canada 650-1,000 5-10
Japan 350-450 5-10
Oceania 75-100 10-20
Total 23,000-25,000
Source: Organic Consumers’ Association (2004)

Organic agriculture is established worldwide and in many countries and regulated by local governments and non-government certification organizations. The international non-government organization IFORM (International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements) plays an important role in pushing organic agriculture in the scene of world. IFOAM has 527 member organizations in 92 countries, including 58 in Germany, 22 in the United States, 13 in Argentina, 5 in Austria, 4 in New Zealand, 12 in Israel, 1 in China, 1 in Republic of Korea and 1 in Taiwan. Europe and Japan are the main importers of the organic products. The Japanese market for organics has been more clearly defined, following the introduction of new organic law in 2001. In the emerging economies of East Asia, the market for organic products appears to be not very significant. In most East Asian countries, there are no regulations governing the production and marketing of organic food. Although there may be some small opportunities for organic market in these countries, the lack of regulation will lead the people to doubt about the reliability of organic products in the markets.

(Source: SOL-Survey. 2001)

Source: SOL-Survey 2004

Figure 1. A comparison of share of each continent of total area
under organic management between 2001 and 2004

Figure 2. Ten countries with the largest land area under organic management in 2003
Source: SOL-Survey, 2003.

2. Organic Production and marketing in the United States

Organic farming in the United States was first started by the farmers and sold as the organic products as early as in 1940. “The Organic Farming Act of 1982” was first passed by the congress to serve as the guideline for organic production. This law was later revised into more detailed and strict regulation into “The Federal Organic Food Production Act of 1990” .Under this law, National Organic Standard Board was established. The Board is responsible to take measures to assure that food products labeled as “organic foods” or “made with organic ingredients” meet the strict organic standard across the United States.
Because of these measures, organic farming becomes the fastest growing agricultural industry in the United States at an increasing rate of 20-25 % every year since 1990. The sale of organic products in 2000 was US$ 7.8 billion, organic livestock products amounted US$618 million, and organic processed products amounted US$170.6 million. According to Foods Merchandiser (NFM), the total amount of sale of the organic products in the Unites States increased to US$10 billion in 2003 (Organic Consumers’ Association estimated to be US$11-13 billion in 2003).
According to Nutrition Business Journal (2000), Fresh vegetables and fruits occupied the largest portion of the sale in an amount of US$2,250 million, followed by non-dairy organic drinks (US$1,000 million), organic bread and cereals (US$850), organic packaged food (US$ 650 million) and organic dairy products (US$ 500 millions) in 2000 (Figure 3). They are sold at premium price of 8-200% over non-organic ordinary products (Table 2).

Table 2. Premium of organic over non-organic cereals and soybean price in the USA
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
------------------------------------------------ (%) -----------------------------------------------
Corn 35 43 73 88 98 89 59
Soybean 114 85 141 202 217 175 177
Wheat 54 59 73 8 87 103 94
Oats 35 59 73 83 77 71 41
*Numbers in the table indicate higher rate of organic over no-organic products (1995-2000)
Source: Bertramsen and Dobbs, 2002.

A rise in the number of organic processing facilities has increased the variety of organic products available in the market place. Almost every food category had an organic version, vegetable-protein products, cereal, meat, and juices have the largest selection among the processed organic foods. The main food categories for organic products in the United States are vegetables fruits, cereals, meats and dairy products. Organic dairy belongs to a large-growth category in the organic industry: its sales more than doubles between 1933 and 1994 to reach an estimated at US $24 million. (Dunn 1995).

3. Organic farming in Europe
Since the beginnings of the 1990s, organic farming has developed very rapidly in almost all European countries. At the beginning of 2001, in the 25 EU countries as well as Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia and Yugoslavia more than 3.7 million hectares of land were managed organically by more than 130,000 farms. This constituted almost two percent of the agricultural area. In the European Union, between 1986 and 1996 the land under organic management grew annually by 30 percent. In Central and Eastern Europe, there is a strong increase in the number of organic farms. In Austria almost ten percent of the agricultural land is organic, and in Germany 2.6 percent.
In many countries the market for organic products are still very small.
In 1991 the European Union (EU) passed Regulation 2092/91, which lays down in detail how food must be produced and packaged to qualify for the description “organic”. However, it applied only to organic foods of vegetable origin. Organic husbandly is still in the developmental stage (Wight 1997). All foods labeled “Organic” must come from processors or imported who are registered and subject to regular inspection. According to Article of EU 2092/91, organic food products may be imported from countries administering legislation equivalent to that of EU.
In the Europe, Germany has the biggest market of US$1,800 million. A higher percentage of market growth (30-40 %) is seen in Denmark and Sweden (Table 3). The marketing channels differed from country to country. In Italy, 60 percent of organic foods are sold in organic stores. Forty six percent of organics are sold in organic stores in Germany and France, while 90 percent of organics are sold in conventional stores in Denmark and 74 percent in England. Ninety six percent of organics are sold in organic stores in Netherlands. Price of organics is generally 20-100 percent higher than that of non-organics as indicated in Table 4. EU imported a considerable amount of organics from USA, Canada and Japan to meet the need of the consumers (Table 5).

Table 3: The European market for organic products 1997, Estimate for 2000
Country US$ million % of total food sales Expected Growth (%) Expected growth(US$ million)
Germany 1,800 1.2 10 2,500
Italy 750 0.6 20 1,100
France 720 0.5 20-25 1,250
Belgium 620 - - -
England 450 0.4 25-30 900
Switzerland 350 2 20-30 700
Netherlands 350 1 15-20 600
Spain 320 - - -
Denmark 300 2.5 30-40 600
Finland 260 - - -
Austria 225 2 15 400
Sweden 110 0.6 30-40 400
Europe 6,255 - - 8,450
Source :( ITC, 1999)

Table 4. Price of organic foods in Europe
Country Premium of organic food over conventional foods (%)
Vegetables Cereals Milk Potato Fruit
Sweden 30-100 10-100 15-20 30-100 100
Denmark 20-50 0-20 20-30 20-50 50-100
Finland 94 64 31 78 -
England 30-100 - 20 - -
Austria - 20-30 25-30 50-100 -
Switzerland 40-80 40-50 10 50 50-60
Luxemburg 60 100 10 50 60
Germany 20-100 20-150 25-80 50-100 20-150
Belgium 40 50 30 40 50
Netherlands 20-50 37 98 33 26
Italy 50-220 125-175 20-50 70-130 50-100
Source: Von Ulrich Hamm and Johannes Micholsen, "Die Vermarktung Von Oekole bensmitteln in Europa", Oekologie Und Landbau, 2000 (Vol. 28, No. 1): pp.31-38, Siftung Oecologic Und Landbau.

Table 5. Ranking of import authorizations by country into EU (1995)
Order of size Country No. of authorization Percent
1 United States 109 24
2 Hungary 40 9
3 Turkey 38 8
4 Canada 29 6
5 Mexico 29 6
6 India 21 5
7 Brazil 15 3
8 Dominican Republic 14 3
9 Japan 12 3
10 Bolivia 10 3
Source: USDA (1995)

4. Organic farming in Asia and Oceania

According to Sol-Survey (2001), total area under organic management in Asia shared only 0.33 % in six continents of the world in 2001; however it increased to be 4 percent in 2004, which is ten fold increases in 3 years. Oceania shared the largest portion of 48.51 percent in 2001 and reduced to be 41.8 percent (Figure 1). According to IFORM (2003), land area under organic management was the largest in Australia (10,500,000 ha), followed by China (301,295 ha), New Zealand (63,438 ha), Indonesia (40,000 ha), Sri Lanka (15,215 ha), Japan (5,083 ha), Papua New Guinea (4,265 ha), Thailand (3,429 ha), Pakistan (2,009 ha), Taiwan (1,092 ha) and Republic of Korea (902 ha), Fiji (200 ha), Malaysia (131 ha). Percentage of organic area in total agricultural area in Australia is 2.08 percent and 1.93 percent for New Zealand. Other countries is less than 1 percent (China 0, 79 %, Papua New Guinea 0.49%, Japan 0.1 % and Taiwan 0.03 %) (Table 6).
According to Organic Consumers Association (2004), Asian consumers are in line with the global trend of increased use of organic products, but American, European and Australian producers are getting profits. High start up costs, hot climatic difficulties and the shortage of reliable labeling schemes caused the Asian organic farmers struggling to grab a slice of fast growing organic market. According to IFORM (2004), last year the international market for organic food reached US$ 20 billion, with Japan eating up nearly US$ 3 billion which is the third largest market for organic foods in the world after the EU and USA. Japanese organic farmers worried that cheap “green food” based organic imports from China might drive Japanese organic agriculture to the wall.
According to Organic Trade Association (OTA) (2004) Taiwan produced and traded US$ 50 million worth of organic food, and Singapore US$3.5million. Figures were unavailable for Hong Kong and Thailand, but the OTA has put them on its hot list of emerging organic markets where high start up costs and low yields for local farmers need to be solved.
China, Papua New Guinea, India, Sri Lanka and Philippines are catching up the trend of organic farming. Oceania which accounts for almost one half of global organic farmland had a market for organic foods that is estimated to be worth US$ 190 million. There is a total of 10,500,000 hectares of organic farmland in Australia, and 63,438 hectares in New Zealand, and most of the organic food produced is exported.
4-1. Japan
Market size

Japan produced a total of 34,000 tons of organic foods in 2001 which increased to be 47,000 tons in 2002. Until September 2003, a total of 4,396 farm’s household engaged in organic farming in Japan (Kijima 2004). Japan has the biggest market for organic food in Asia. They called “Organic” as “YUKI” in Japanese. “YUKI” includes any products which are produced organically through organic farming,” natural farming” or organically processed. The amount of “YUKI products was estimated to be US$500 million in 1994 (Twyford Jones 1998). Since the mid-1980s it has subsequently grown considerably at an annual rate of 20 percent. It is estimated that more than 300 organic products, including fresh organic fruits and vegetables, are available in the market.

Table 6. Organic farming in Asia and the Pacific*
Country Arable and permanent crops land (1000 ha) Number of organic farms reported Land area under organic management (ha) Percent of total agricultural area (%) Year of data
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
China 135,557 2,910 301,295 0.02 2001
Fiji 285 10 200 0.07 2000
India 169,700 5,661 41,000 0.03 2001
Indonesia 33,546 45,000 40,000 0.12 2001
Korea, Rep. of 1,919 1,237 902 0.05 1998
Lao PDR 958 150 2001
Malaysia 7,605 27 131 2001
Nepal 2,968 26 45 0.002
Pakistan 21,960 405 2,009 0.01 2001
Philippines 10,050 500 0.02 2001
Sri Lanka 1,910 3,301 15,215 0.79 2001
Taiwan 3,601 941 1,092 0.03 2003
Thailand 18,000 940 3,429 0.02 2001
Viet Nam 7,350 38 2 0.003 2001
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Australia 50,600 1,380 10,500,000 2.08 2001
Japan 4,830 5,083 0.10 1999
New Zealand 3,280 983 63,438 1.93 2001
WORLD 1,497,365 398,804 22,811,267
* Rearranged table based on data of organic farms from publication of International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Te World of Organic Agriculture 2003, 5th, revised edition, February 2003: Minou Yussefi und Helga Willer (Eds.)

Since September 2002, organic supermarkets and restaurants have sprouted across the country, while foreign exporters of organic foods rushed to get their produce certified under the Japanese Standard Law, which came into effect in 2001. (Tim Large, REUTER. Tokyo April 5, 2002, Taipei Times). It is estimated that organic produce imported from the USA totaled US$100 million in 2002, those from Washington state was about US$10mllion (USDA 2002). Organic produce imported into Japan through Sumitomo Company and Nissho Iwai Company is mostly soybeans. Japan also import some frozen fresh vegetables from USA, New Zealand and Canada. Organic black teas are from Latin America, and organic banana are imported from Mexico and Philippines (Trends in Japan 1996). A part from consumer co-operatives, supermarket chain has been increasing their sales of organic products. The Tokyo-based Citizen’s Association for Recycling Movement in Japan opened the organic stores which attract 1,200 customers a day. Its operation is based on door to door delivery service for estimated 55,000 households across the country (Japan Times 1997).
Retail price for organic products are estimated to be, on average 15-20 percent higher than the similar non-organic products. Competition is increasing between the locally produced products and imported organic products, especially cheap “green food” based organic products from China. Europe and the United States are exporting much cheaper and better quality organic farm products to Japan. Some observers believe that organic import will continue to increase in view of the increasing market demand (Japan Times 1997).

Organic law in Japan
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery (MAFF) launched a program of organic farming for many years. In 1992 MAFF promulgated a regulation called “Standard of Labeling Organic Products and Specially Produced Agricultural Products”. However, the regulation was not welcomed by the consumers, because it did not provide a reliable labeling system and caused a lot of confusion to the consumers. It was then revised into “Regulation for Labeling Standardized Agricultural and Forestry Commodity”. This regulation was further revised two times in 1996 and 1997 to be more suitable one. It was further revised into four kinds of more strict regulations, and officially promulgated as the latest version of organic law in 2000. They are: (1) Agriculture and Forestry Regulation for Organic Products; (2) Accreditation Standard for Agricultural Production (3) Japanese Standard of Processing Organic Products and (4) Basic Standard for Accreditation of Organic Food Processors. The fourth one was again revised to be “Standard for Organic Products and Specially Produced Agricultural Products”, and was officially promulgated in 2001. The latest version of organic law is very strict, and the certification organization and inspector must have the official license obtained according to the procedures stipulated in the law.
Only officially certified products can be labeled as “JAS Organic” for marketing. There is also a regulation about the labeling of imported organic foods. The law has a penalty regulation for faked organic foods. The producer of faked organic food bearing “JAS Organic” label will be fined with a minimum sum of 500,000 Japanese Yen. Much higher amount (double amount) of fine will be posted to the certification organization which issued a faked certification to a faked organic product. Because of this strict law comparable to that of USA and EU, organic consumers gained confidence on organic foods in Japanese market. This confidence feeling led to increased organic consumption in Japan, at the present market volume of US$3-4 billion. It is estimated that approximately 3 to 5 million people in Japan buy organic products regularly for health reasons.

Production and marketing of organic products by big companies

The case of MOA International
The “natural farming” promoter MOA (Mokichi Okada Association International) which has 68 years’ of history established a 60-ha experimental farm at Ohito, Sizuoka Prefecture. The technology of natural farming and “Natural Farming Standard” developed at the experimental farm are transferred to the contracted farmers for application. The contracted “natural farms” serve as “Satellite Farms” to produce natural foods for MOA. The natural products (organic products) produced from the satellite farms are routinely colleted at MOA Narita Commodity Collection and Distribution Center located near Tokyo. The collected natural products are packed along with the “MOA natural food label”. Some of them are used as the row materials for processing into various types of natural foods, such as natural rice, natural tea, natural Tofu, natural soy source, natural noodle and natural soybean milk etc. The natural foods thus produced are then distributed to the MOA’s health chain stores scattered across the country. The market chain store network of MOA facilitates the exportation and importation of organic foods in Japan.

The case of Mizuho Sinsei Organic Agricultural Institute
This Institute is a part of the private Mizuho Food and Grain Company operating in very similar way as MOA to produce and marketing organic foods. This Institute is doing extension work for organic farming through its education program to its 2,000 members of organic farmers. The organic products (rice, vegetables, fruits and tea) produced by these member farmers are collected, labeled and sold as organic foods through the marketing section of Mizuho Company. The organic products are delivered to the consumers through its 100 chain stores. In the mean time, they distributed the organic foods directly to the special fixed consumers by 140 cars every day.

The case of “TEIKEI”system of the producer-consumer co-partnership of organic foods
TEKEI system is the producer-consumer co-partnership movement launched by Japan Organic Association. TEkEI is an idea to create an alternative distribution system not to depend on the conventional market. It is basically a direct distribution system of organic products from the farm. To carry it out, the producers and the consumers should contact each other frequently to get mutual understanding and mutual trust to each other in terms of product quality. Under this system the delivery stations are set up to deliver the products for the nearest consumers.
The Japanese organic agriculture movement initiated this TEKEI system to take care of both producers and consumers. Through TEKEI system, friendly and creative relationship between reliable organic producers and consumers is established. Organic foods are produced according to pre-arranged plans between the producers and consumers. Price of organic products is set in the spirit of mutual benefits. According to Japan Organic Agriculture Association, at present 500-1,000 consumers’ groups are connected with “TEIKEI” system of operation across the country.
4-2. China
Green Food
In China organic food is known as “Green Food”. Green Food is defined as uncontaminated, safe, high quality healthy food which is produced under a specific scheme of ecological agriculture. It is permitted to be sold under the label of “Green Food” after being certified by designated organizations (Liu 1999). In China, the greenhouse vegetables that are grown under the soil less condition is also called Green Foods, because they are not exposed to any polluting substance (USDA 1997). According to the China Green Food Development Center, Green Food is similar to organic, natural or ecological food in Western countries (APFI 1997). In 1990, China created the Green Food Development Center (CGFDC) under Ministry of Agriculture. In 1992 it was renamed to be China Green Food Development Center (CGFDC), which was accepted as a member of IFOAM in 1993.
Recently, a regulation entitled “Green Food Grading Standard” has been promulgated by the CGFDC. This regulation divides green food into “A” and “AA” grades. “AA” grade green food is defined as the products which are produced according to international standard. It is targeted for international markets such as United Sates, Europe and Japan, while “A” grade green food, which allows using low level of chemicals, is aimed at selling in the domestic market (Tang 1997).
In 1994, the State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA) established the Organic Food Development Center (OFDC). OFDC then prepared a comprehensive set of “Organic Farming Production and Food Processing Standards and Management Regulations” for labeling of the organic foods. The standards cover crops, eggs and milk products, apiculture, mushrooms sprout products and wild plants collection; processing of organic products; distribution and sale; storage and packaging; inspection and auditing; air, irrigation and water quality used in production; and permissible and prohibited material for production and processing. OFDC is now responsible for inspection, certification, labeling, research, education and training related to development of organic food. (FAO 2002)
Certified products include soybean, buckwheat, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, rice, walnut, pine nuts tea, medical herbs, milk and a few processed products such fruit juices, noodles (FAO 2002). Before 1999, more than 95% of the certified organic products of China were exported, mainly to Japan, EU and USA (FAO 2002)
Production of green foods
Green food production which began in China in 1990 has developed rapidly since that time. By the end of 1995 a total of 568 kinds of green foods were developed. The first group of green foods is categorized to be the fresh products without any industrial processing. They are fresh fruits, vegetables, rice, poultry, meat, eggs, fish and tea. The second group belongs to the processed products from non-polluted raw materials, such as milk power, milk products, and grape wines. In 1995 the amount of green foods produced in China reached 2.10 million tons, with an output value of RMB 10 million (China Daily 1997). By the end of 1996, a total of 742 kinds of green foods with the total output of 3.6 million tons at the value of US$ 1.77 billion were produced. It was 30 percent increase in comparison with that of 1995 (PSPFI 1997). At the end of 1997, China developed 892 green food products with a total output of 6.3 million tons (Liu 1999). It is estimated that a total of 135,557 hectares of lands are under organic management in 2002 which is 0.02 percent of total agricultural area (Table 6). The government is targeting to increase the area of green food production to 1 percent of the cultivated area in the future.
According to the China Green Food Development Center, China is planning to build 19 additional green food production bases in 10 major cities including Shanghai, Guanzhjou and Shenntang in the future. About half of the 40 most popular green foods are produced outside Shanghai. Many of them are delivered from Heilongjang province in China far north-east, which is considered to be unpolluted region. In 2002 the writer (Hsieh) visited Shanghai Suqiao Modern Agricultural Development Area located in Puding New Area. The area is used for experiments in horticulture and aquaculture as well as mass production of vegetables and flowers, fruits and melons. It is seen as an example of the Yangtze River Valley to develop green food. After seeing the farm, the writer felt that the way of producing green food in that area is quite different from the scheme of organic production used by the Western countries.

Markets
Chinese consumers began to have initial awareness of green foods that may lead to demand in the future, particularly polluted cities. In these cities, concern about healthy foods is growing and profit for producing green foods is increasing (USDA 1997). According to survey, more than 90 percent of consumers in Beijing and Shanghai accept green foods and 79 percent to 84 percent hope they can buy green foods. The demand for green food has been rising and is expected to reach US$ 2.5 billion in next few years (China Daily 1997). The great majority of green food is fresh vegetables, dairy products and fresh live poultry or seafood. According to the China Green Food Development Center, the price premium for green food is generally around 10 percent. The “AA” grade green premium in general is of 30 to 50 percent in China (Xu Dashan 1997). With its cheap labor and proximity to Japan, China may come to compete with the Unites States or Australia for organic market in Japan and even some market in Europe. China has not yet formulated an IFORM based organic standard of organic production and marketing, therefore the organic products need to be certified according to the law of importing countries. This will hinder exportation of the organic products.

4-3. Hong Kong

No official standard for certifying organic products in Hong Kong; the Hong Kong Association of Organic Farmers was established to promote organic food production and marketing. Because of limited land, only 5 organic farms with a total land area of 8 hectares are growing products. They produce seasonal vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, cabbages as well as organic fruits such as banana and papaya. The Green Garden which is located in the vicinity of city, serves as the place for people to experience green agriculture. The writer visited the garden to see the actual operation of the garden in 1998. Seeds of vegetables and organic fertilizers are provided for public to use for organic farming there. There is no reliable statistics available for organic farming in Hong Kong. Locally produced fresh organic products and imported ones are available on the market. The organic products are sold through supermarket chain with 50-300 percent higher price than the conventional food. The sale of organic products is less than 5 percent of the total products sale (USDA 1996) Australia and Japan are supplying organic products to Hong Kong in addition to Mainland China.

4-4. Republic of Korea

Organic farming for sustainable agriculture gained increased attention in Republic of Korea over the last 20 years. The government of Republic of Korea is encouraging farmers to adopt organic farming practices, either directly through financial incentives or indirectly through support for research and marketing initiatives. In 1994, subsidized loans were paid to farmers who were already operating organic farms, or planned to convert from conventional to organic farming (Chong 1999).
“The Act on Sustainable Agriculture” was passed in December 1997 in support of sustainable agriculture in Korea. The act recognizes the importance of research, extension, financial support and market promotion activities for organic farming. In 1998, a total of 902 hectares of lands were under organic management which occupied 0.05 percent of total agricultural area (Table 6). Premium prices can be achieved at the special organic market, or selling directly to consumer. In almost all cases, organic farmers received higher income than that of conventional farmers. Organic lettuce and organic eggs get 50 percent premium price and organic grape gets 287 percent premium price in Korea. (Chong 1999)
Organic market in Korea is relatively small, but has gown rapidly over the past decades. In 2001, locally grown organic products (fruits, vegetables and rice) accounted for only 0.2 % of total agricultural production (Brehm 2002). Current import regulations are ambiguous, so the Ministry of Agriculture (MAF) has developed a labeling program which indicates whether a product is organically grown. At present, imported organic products are mainly baby foods, infant formulas and some health foods (Brehm 2002). Specific information on the size of the retail market for organic products is not available. However, it is expected that the market for processed organic foods (baby food, bread or flour) will grow drastically in the next few years. About 55 percent of Korean consumers purchase organic products, because they are concerned with their health (Brehm 2002).
4-5. India

Comprehensive policy on organic farming has been proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture. The government publicizes organic farming to emphasize the need of reduced use of harmful chemicals on the farm. The government identifies progressive farmers to receive organic farming training, and to help them to form “Organic Farming Association” at village level.
According to Mahale (2002), there are three types of organic farmers in India
˙ Farmers who follow the old pattern of indigenous farming practice.
˙ Farmers who are practicing “biodynamic agriculture” or “natural farming” on their own small and medium sized lands
˙ Private companies engaging in a large scale organic farming for exportation of their products.
India produces primary organic products (coffee, teas, spices, fruits, vegetables, cereals as well as honey and cotton), and processed foods are limited. Organic husbandry, poultry and fishery do not exist. Domestic organic markets and consumer awareness are underdeveloped in India, but interest is growing. On the domestic market, organic food is usually sold directly from farmers or through specialized shops and restaurants. At present a price premium of 20-30 % over conventional products can be received (FAO 2002). India is an exporting country, mainly to Europe and USA and does not import any organic products.
External certification bodies introduced inspection and certification program in 1989 (FAO 2002). The Indian Organic Standards are modeled on the IFORM Basic Standards and the seal “India Organic” has been established. In October 2001, the export of organic products was brought under government regulation, while import and the domestic market are not (Mahal 2002). India’s first local organic certification body, “Indocert”, was founded in March 2002. Indocert’s aim is to reliable and affordable organic inspection and certification service to farmers, processors, input dealers. It provides certification for the domestic and export market.

4-6. Thailand

His Majesty King Bhumipol of Thailand is very much concerned about the degrading environment caused by the modern chemical based agriculture. In order to solve the problem, the King launched a royal project for organic agriculture. The project included experiment and training at the Royal Chnburi Agricultural Youth Training Center and Royal Kao Hin Sorn Agricultural Research and Development Center. The writer visited these two Centers to see their research and training activities of natural farming in 1993. The farmers who received the training courses will start organic farming on their own farms. The efforts made by His Majesty King Bhumipol and government officials laid down the foundation of organic farming in Thailand (Hsieh 2000).
According to Organic News line No2 (2001), the Thai government has launched an organic farm village in a bid to promote environment friendly agriculture in line with the call from the King. Under the project, subsidy and technical assistance are provided to the selected farmers. According to IFOAM (2003), a total of 3,429 hectares of farm lands are under organic management in Thailand in 2001(Table 6). They hoped that under the state support, more farmers (hopefully 30,000 small scale farmers) will switch from conventional farming to alternative organic farming nationwide. Each province will select their own villages and submit their plan to get approval.
The government helped to find domestic and foreign markets for the organic produce. Deputy Agriculture Minister Prapat said that organic farming is now as the national agricultural strategy. Thailand could become the world’s major organic producer, though it is more difficult to compete with modern conventional farming (Organic New line No 2 issue 16.26 Apr. 2001). According to Asian Times (2004), the government of Thailand launched a program of growing organic tea at Chiang Rai Province with the hope that Thailand will become one of the leading producers of organic tea to compete with China, India and Taiwan. They plan to increase area of organic tea plantation from 5,600 hectare to 16,000 hectares within five years. Although Thailand has implemented local organic standard already (Table 7), however not yet has an internationally recognized reliable organic certification system.

4-7. Singapore

There are several categories of health foods in Singapore, including (1) organics which contain no preservatives including additives and colorings; (2) natural foods which contain no preservatives; (3) commercial health foods which may have been produced using pesticides and may contain preservatives such as low fat, low salt (USDA 1997). There is little information on guidelines affecting organic products.
Due to its limited land for organic production, Singapore has to rely on other countries for its organic products. It is a big importer of organic products and also serves as a trading center for organic products shipped to south-east Asia, the key markets being Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. (Twyford-Jones and Doolan (1998). Health food or organic foods are mostly imported from Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, France and the United States (USDA 1997).
A greater awareness of healthy eating in Singapore stimulates the people to spend more money to buy organic foods (fresh fruits, vegetables and other organic products). This is due to: firstly, Singaporeans are well educated and more health conscious; secondly, people pay more attention to the quality of foods, and willing to pay more to buy healthy foods; thirdly, Singapore is becoming aging nation and the rich aged population is paying more attention to health foods, with the hope that eating health foods will prolong their life. Because of these factors, the consumption of organic foods is usually limited in a “special group” is now expanded to”general public”. This situation helps to increase the market demand of organic foods in the Singaporean society.
Singapore is now serving as one of major importer and distributor of organic foods in South-east Asia. New organic products in South-east Asia usually appear first in Singapore, then the neighboring Malaysia, and then to rest of south-east Asian countries. Price of organic foods in Singapore varied greatly. It may cost as high as 3-5 times in retail price in comparison with the conventional product, because, almost all organic products are imported by means of air freight. The high air transportation fee plus high-priced organics from foreign countries contributed to the high price of organic foods in Singapore.

4-8. Malaysia

There is an increasing public concern about environment and food safety, but only a few people really know about the relationship between food safety and organic farming. A recent survey made by the Center for Environment Technology and Development(CETD) indicated that there is lack of information on what constitutes organic farming and where to obtain organic products (Quah 1999).There is very few organic training available for producers in Malaysia, and the expertise of organic farming comes from self learning. However, recently the CETD provides training on organic farming (Hashim 1997). Currently only a few local organic farms (27 farms in 2001), including Malasiahey Penan Organic Farm, Premier Organic Produce Network of Organic Farms in Camerroon Highland and Sungkai, and the organic fruit plantation in Rompin. There is no official regulation and guideline available to monitor whether the products are really organically grown in Malaysia.
Organic products are sold directly from farms to dealers and consumers, and the market for organic food in Malaysia is still very small. Sixty percent of organic food in Malaysia is imported. The organic foods (spaghetti, flour, beans, bread, cakes, and ice cream) are mostly imported from USA and UK. And the import of organic food from Australia has been increased. In absence of official organic regulation, dealers can use any name like “organic food”, ”natural food” “safety food” or other names they wish to use. In order to get real organic products, consumers like to buy the organic vegetables directly from the farm where they can see the actual operation of the organic production. In view of this situation, the Malaysian government is moving to require that all imported organic food should carry a reliable label of “certified organic” by the exporting countries.
Organic industry is too small and a long way to go in Malaysia. Only fresh vegetables and fruits are produced organically in small amount. However there is an opportunity for farmers to use the abundant farm wastes (sugarcane bag as, coconut shells etc.) to be composted into organic manure to be used for organic farming. In view of expanding the organic shops in Malaysia, to reflect the world trend of health food sales, there is a great room for people of Malaysia, to develop their own system of organic production and marketing. Malaysian version of organic regulation and standards should be developed. Government should have a clear-cut policy to develop organic industry to catch up the global trend of organic production and marketing.

4-9. Philippines

The Philippine organic industry, estimated at US $5.2 million, appears to be relatively small, featuring mainly locally grown products that are limited in variety. The promising news is that production is expanding by a healthy 10 to 20 percent annually. It is viewed that demand for organic products eventually will exceed the locally produced amount. Once more consumers become aware of organic food and have better access to them; the potential for growth in import will increase. Since for most Philippine consumers, price is the deciding factor in the food they buy, the future of organic food rest as a niche market, mainly appealing to wealthier, well-traveled customers who have been influenced by the “healthy lifestyle” in advanced countries. Organic food sale may increase because of concern over food safety, the environmental pollution or health consideration by the people of Philippines.

4-10. Indonesia

According to IFOAM (2003), Indonesia has a total of 40,000 hectares of land under organic management which occupies 0.12 percent of total land area (Table 6). Initial glance at this figure, people will have an impression that Indonesia is a big modernized organic farming country in Asia. The real situation is that a large portion of Indonesia’s farmers, especially outside Java are counted as organic farmers simply, because they are not directed to do modern chemical oriented farming and continue their traditional old method of farming by their ancestors, because they are not afford to buy chemical fertilizers and pesticides (Down to Earth No. 49 2001)
Public awareness of what “organic agriculture” means and consumer demand for organic crops is very low in Indonesia today. Although they set up Board of Indonesian Organic Certification (BIOCert) by NGO recently, but there is no national certification of labeling scheme for organic food and also no regulation for labeling of GMO products. In Indonesia, the benefits of organic farming are understood by only a few who concern food safety for their own health. With the efforts of NGO and the government of Indonesia, people began to think about the environment friendly organic farming. For instance, Ministry of Agriculture is now supporting researches on compost making an integrated pest management (IPM) and other related problems such ad crop rotation etc.(Karama 1990),
Even though, the general farmers are reluctance to adopt new ideas of organic farming with a belief that chemical agriculture is more productive than organic farming. Nevertheless, there is a small organic farming project of the NGO in Bogor. It started with a small piece of land to grow organic vegetables with modern technology of organic farming. The organic products were sold by co-operative type farmers’ group to a special group (NGO and special house wives) through a direct delivery system. The goods were priced somewhat between that of traditional market and supermarket price.
One of the few shops was set up to sell organic products in Yogykarta in 1997 by the Consortium of Fair Trade Company. The shop owners who return most profits to farmers, say it is hard to find people willing to pay the higher price charged for organic produce. To catch up the general global trend of organic development, Board of Indonesia Organic Certification (BIOCert) was set up by NGO in Indonesia recently. It has legal entity as an Association. The objectives of the BIOCert are to provide guarantee of organic process and products, sustainable environment, and to protect small farmer, equality, democracy, transparency, and accountability. It is hoped that BIOCert will stimulate the integration of organic farming and fair trade in Indonesia.

4-11. Vietnam

According to IFOAM (2003), there is only 2 hectares of land under organic management by 38 farms in Vietnam in 2001. The proportion of organic land is only 0.003 % of the total agricultural area (Table 6). The post Vietnam War country is struggling to enhance agricultural production through encouraging farmers to do modern chemical oriented agriculture, and not specially emphasizing the low input sustainable agriculture or organic farming. The writer visited agricultural research institutions of Vietnam in December 2003, and found that the research institutions are engaging many modern researches, such as gene transfer for crops and embryo transfer for animals etc. He failed to find any research activities related to low input sustainable agriculture or organic farming in the research institutions he visited.
The good news is that there is evidence that the Vietnamese government wants to limit additives in the foods it imports; the government has started to check imported food stuffs against a published list of acceptable food additives and ingredients. With the vast area of agricultural land and natural resources for compost making, there is a big room for the people of Vietnam to develop the modern-type organic farming in this country.

1. Organic food certification in Asia

Modern technology based agriculture often has a food safety problem, because harmful chemical residue is commonly found in the produced foods. Recently standardized analytical technique has been developed to detect chemical residues in the foods. A control measure for food safety is thus developed and adopted through food certification program in many countries of the world, especially developed countries today. According to IFOAM (2003) about 60 countries in the world have already implemented their systems of food certification according to their own regulations.
Organic certification system in Asia is relatively young. Japan has the most complete system of organic food certification in Asia. When the foreign organic foods met the Japanese standards of organic law, they are allowed to be imported into Japan. The “JAS Organic” label carrying certified locally produced organic foods can be exported to other countries without any problem. In Taiwan, governmental organic standard was first published in 1999 which was revised in 2000 and again revised and officially promulgated as Organic Standard Law in 2003. The government accredited three NGOs as organic certification organizations in Taiwan. The organic label will be given to the certified organic foods.
In South Korean, the government has devised its own certification system; it does not worry about complying with international standards because certified organic foods are all consumed locally. China also had local certifying bodies but export products are still certified by foreign agencies. It is only Thailand whose certifying body (non government) was recently accredited by the International Organization for Accreditation Services (IOSA). India, Sri Lanka and Philippines export some certified products but certification is done by foreign agencies. Meanwhile, initiatives are being done for the establishment of local certification system that includes group certification as a service to farmer organization (Briones 2004). In Asia, 9 countries (China, Japan, India, and Israel, South Korea, Lebanon, Taiwan and Thailand) have their own organic certification standards by the time of 2003. Malaysia finalized regulation, not yet fully implemented while, Indonesia and Philippines are in the process of drafting regulations (Table 7). China, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and Malaysia are also working on organic legislation.
Aside from the organic guarantee, high market growth in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan is also attributed to education; campaigns being done by the consumer organizations and environmental groups as they campaign for health hazards in chemical pollution, they identify organic foods as alternative.

Table 7. List of countries with organic regulations in Asia
Country Fully implemented regulation Finalized regulation, not yet fully implemented In process of drafting regulations
China +
India +
Indonesia +
Israel +
Japan +
Lebanon +
Malaysia +
Philippines +
South Korea +
Taiwan +
Thailand +
(Source: The Organic Standard, Issue 11, March 2002)

6. Taiwan experience of organic production and marketing

6-1 Area of organic farming

In the past decades, Taiwan’s agriculture depended very much on the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides which created abundant food production. In realizing its effect on environment, clean agriculture or environment friendly agriculture has been advocated by the government and private sectors in Taiwan in recent years. The government began to support researches on chemical free organic farming to various research institutions starting from 1989. Research findings were presented at various seminars to emphasize the importance of organic farming to the human health and the rural economy.
When organic farming technology reached to a mature stage, the government started to set up the demonstration farms in various locations in Taiwan through its seven District Agricultural Improvement Stations in 1995. In 1987, Taichung District Agricultural Improvement Station drafted a guideline for organic farming. At the same time MOA International of Japan proposed its set of organic standard to Taiwan. The organic standard was revised several times since then. Because of the effort made by the government and private sectors as well as farmers, the area of organic farms increased steadily year after year. In 19996 a total of 159.6 hectares of land were certified to be under organic management. It increased to 396.5 hectares in 1997, a 100 % increase in one year. It further increased to be 1,092.4 hectares in 2003 which is 6.8-fold increase in comparison with the year of 1996 (Table 8, Figure 4)). The figure is consisted of 0.03 percent of total agricultural land in Taiwan (Table 6). When multiple cropping on the same land is considered, the total harvesting area for organic farming in 2002 reached to 2,172 hectares. The harvest area for organic rice production occupied the largest figure of 1,209 hectares followed by vegetables (697.7 ha), fruit trees (188ha) and tea (55 ha)(Table 9).The area of organic farming is expected to rise in the future, in view of growing demand of the organic market in Taiwan.

6-2. Lu-Chou Organic Production and Marketing Team (LCOPMT)

Among many Organic Production and Marketing Teams (OPMT), the operation of Lu-Chou OPMT is taken as an example to illustrate the operation of organic farms in Taiwan. Lu-Chou is a rural town near Taipei city. It is an excellent place to grow high quality vegetables for populated consumers in Taipei city. Under the guidance of Taoyuan District Agricultural Improvement Station and Liu-kung Agricultural Production and Marketing Foundation, the OPMT was organized in 1985. The Team is consisted of 10 members with a total land of 5.37 hectares, including the plastic houses of 2.14 hectares.
The OPMT followed the government’s organic standards, and emphasized to apply only organic fertilizer and practicing manual weeding and integrated pest management (IPM). To ensure the quality of vegetables, the Liu-kung Agricultural Production and Marketing Foundation routinely tested the growing vegetables on the farm to watch whether they are contaminated by chemicals. After additional tests on the harvested vegetables by the National Research Institute for Pesticides and Toxic Substances, a certificate of “Safety Vegetables” is issued to Lu-Chou OPMT. The harvested “safety vegetables” are then graded and packed with a certified label issued by the certification unit, and are stored in a cold storage room to keep their freshness. The “safety organic vegetables” thus produced are supplied to the supermarkets in Taipei city every day. This is a good example of production and direct marketing of safety organic vegetables to the consumers in Taipei. Operation of other organic farms follow suit.

Figure 4. Increasing area of certified organic farms in Taiwan

Table 8. Area of farms under organic management in Taiwan Unit: ha
Year Rice Vegetables Fruit trees Tea Others Total
1996 61.50 26.10 67.00 5.00 159.60
1997 239.00 42.50 100.00 16.00 396.50
1998 302.00 98.00 156.00 22.00 579.00
1999 466.00 170.30 157.20 22.00 5.00 820.50
2000 596.27 153.76 208.70 36.50 17.30 1012.53
2001 493.39 171.19 159.00 55.61 18.72 897.91
2002 609.04 174.42 187.87 54.87 21.78 1018.97
2003 599.8 228.27 158.82 62.77 42.77 1092.43
Source: Council of Agriculture (2004)

Table 9. Yearly increase of harvested area (including multiple cropping) of organic farming in Taiwan Unit :( ha)
Year Rice* Vegetables** Fruit trees Tea Others Total
1996 186.5 104.4 67.0 5.0 362.9
1997 489.0 170.0 100.0 16.0 775.0
1998 682.0 392.0 156.0 22.0 1,252.0
1999 934.4 681.2 157.0 22.0 5.0 1,799.6
2000 1156.6 615.0 209.0 37.0 17.0 2,034.6
2001 981.1 684.8 159.0 56.0 19.0 1,899.9
2002 1,209.0 697.7 188.0 55.0 22.0 2,171.7
Note:* Including 2 crops a year **Estimated by farm size x 4 (4 crops a year)
Source: Council of Agriculture

Table 10. A list of supermarkets through which the safety organic vegetables produced by the Lu-Chou Vegetable Production and Marketing Team is distributed
Supermarkets Tel. No. Supermarkets Tel. No.
Hoping 2396-5361 Wannien 29333205
Tiengmu 2871-2729 Neihu 2659-0007
Hsinlung 2732-5355 Taiang 2784-9591
Taohsiang 2891-2191 Yungchien 2236-8375
Lingung 27882864 Chungshun 2234-1532
Hualung 2831-4407 Minseng 2768-0131
Sunsing 2763-8669

6-3. Certification of organic foods in Taiwan

Organic Standard and certification
Prior to 1988 organic farming was at a sprouting stage and there was no organic standard available. In 1993 the organic standards were drafted based on the Japanese MOA version of standard, which was endorsed by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry of Taiwan Provincial Government. The Organic Standard was later revised by Council of Agriculture of Central Government into three rules in 1999. They are (1) Basic Organic Apicultural Production Standards, (2) Guideline for Operation of Accreditation Organizations and (3) Guideline for Setting-up Accreditation Team. An additional guideline entitled “Procedure for Application and Evaluation for Organic Certification Organizations “was promulgated in June 2000.
The above mentioned regulations were again revised with reference to The Federal Food Production Act 1990 of USA and Organic Law of Japan (2000) to be (1) Control Measure for Handling Organic Products, (2) Guideline for Organic Production-Crops, (3) Guidelines for Organic Production-Livestock and (4) Procedures for Evaluation of Organic Agricultural Product Accreditation Organization. They were officially promulgated by the Council of Agriculture in September 2003.
The newly published organic standards for crop production include soil management, integrated cultural practices (rotational cropping, mix cropping), selection of right varieties (disease and insect resistance), weed management, IPM (integrated pest management), materials could be used (compost, born meal, soybean meal etc.), materials should not be used (chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and plant hormones etc.). The rules concerning post harvesting treatment of crops, packing and marketing of organic products are included. For livestock production, origin of livestock and poultry to be raised, feed and feed additives and environment for raising animals, marketing of livestock products.
Organic certification
Both organic farms and organic home gardens are entitled to organic certification. Upon receiving an application for field certification, the certification unit will dispatch an inspector to conduct “On Site Inspection”. When the field inspection is passed, the farm can be designated as “Transitional Organic Field”. A certificate together with a farm label (plate) will be issued for posting on the farm. The certification is effective for 3 years, and can be renewed after the expiration of the term. If the certified farm did not follow the standards of organic farming, the certified document will be revoked.
Inspectors
The inspector shall not be a party to any transition involving the certified products. The inspector may not be an employee of /or have any financial interest in any company, which is a party to any transaction involving the certified products. In cases of suspected contamination, or following a request from the certification committee, the inspector shall have the right to unannounced visits, take samples, and require residue tests.
Labeling of organic products
For marketing of organic products, the farmers can apply for organic labels to the certification unit. When approved, they will be given with the certified organic labels which will be pasted on the products. If the label is improperly used, the right of using the label will be revoked (Figure 5).

6-4. Organic certification organization

The Council of Agriculture has accredited three private organizations to be the certification organizations for organic products in Taiwan. They are: (1) Taiwan MOA International Foundation of Natural Ecology (2001)), (2) Taiwan Organic Agriculture Foundation (TOAF) (2003), (3) Taiwan Organic Product Association (TOPA) (2003) and (3) Tse-Xin Organic Farming Foundation (TOAF) (2003). They take roles for organic certification according to the Organic Food Production Regulations promulgated by the Council of Agriculture in 2003. Each authorized organization has its own trade mark (label) for its certified organic products. MOA International Foundation of Ecology contributed the most in the organic certification. Organic rice certification occupied the largest proportion followed by vegetables and fruits. (Table 11)

Figure 5. Flow chart of organic food certification and labeling in Taiwan.

6-4-1.Taiwan MOA International Foundation of Natural Ecology (MOA)

Taiwan MOA International Foundation of Natural Ecology was established in 1990 in cooperation with Mokichi Okada International Association (MOA) of Japan. It is a non-profit organization advocates the ideology of loving nature and environment for sustainable agriculture.
Table 11. Area of certified organic farm in Taiwan (first crop of 2004) Unit: (ha)
Crops MOA TOAF TOPA COAA FOA Total
Rice 211.42 180.79 118.50 65.58 0 576.29
Vegetables 89.09 48.61 51.74 56.40 8.71 245.55
Fruit 50.93 39.30 33.33 26.40 2.70 152.66
Tea 37.19 1.30 20.47 6.15 0 65.11
Others 4.89 3.98 13.97 14.67 0.64 38.15
Total 393.52 325.95 238.01 169.20 12.06 1086.76
Source: Council of Agriculture

Its 20-member board of trustee of the Foundation is from Taiwan as well as from Japan. The board members which included the writer discuss the work and budget plan, and to evaluate the results of executed projects at its semi-annual board meetings in Taipei. The foundation is the first NGO accredited as an official “Organic Certification Organization” by Council of Agriculture in Taiwan. The main works of the Foundation are:
˙To help formulate the government version of “National Standard of Organic Farming” with reference to its own “natural farming standard”
˙To carry out organic certification work at field and market levels according to the regulation stipulated in the national standard. In the first crop of 2004, a total of 393.52 hectares of organic farms were certified by this Foundation. (Table 11).
˙To organize various training courses and seminar to update the knowledge of organic production and marketing for the inspectors and organic farmers.
˙To organize organic field tours for general public so that to let consumers to see the actual operation of organic farming.
˙To organize various activities related to natural ecology preservation for general public.
For detail information please visit http//www.moa.org.tw/

6-4-2. Taiwan Organic Production Association (TOPA)

TOPA is established to transfer the technologies of organic farming, and to establish a reliable system of organic product certification. The main duties of the Association are more or less the same as Taiwan MOA. In order to promote organic farming, the Association conducted 3 field demonstrations and marketing of organic products in1998. Under the financial support of Council of Agriculture, the Association also conducted 6 provincial-level organic farming show at different regions in 1999. Similar activities are organized every year until today. Under the support of Council of Agriculture, the Association has been developing biological pesticides for non-chemical control of crop pests. The Association established the system of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) to ensure that the organic products are free from the contamination of chemicals. The Association offers the service of organic product certification, based on "The National Organic Standards". The members of Organic Certification Committee are consisted of invited scholars from universities and research institutions as well as from governmental organizations. For detail information please visit: http://www.topa.org.tw/

6-4-3. Tse-Xin Organic Agriculture Foundation (TOAF)

TOAF is a non-profit NGO belonging to Buddhist organization to promote eating health foods and executing organic certification. Member of the Foundation is mostly vegetarians, so they are very much concerned about the safety of vegetables and fruits they are eating. They established Organic Agriculture Foundation under the name of Tse-Xin (meaning “kind hearted”) in 1997. The Foundation worked closely with organic farmers and government units (Council of Agriculture, research institutions) as well as other NGOs for organic certification. The duties of the Foundation are:
˙To receive farmer’s application for organic certification and field inspection.
˙To execute duties of organic farms and organic products certification according to government organic standard.
˙To protect the lawful right for the member of the Foundation.
˙To make survey, information collection and data analysis for organic production and marketing
˙To transfer technology of organic farming through training.
˙To promote organic food marketing through various activities.
For detail, please visit: http//www.niu.edu.tw/toaf/index.htm
In addition to the above mentioned three accredited NGOs, Formosa Organic Association (FOA) and Chinese Organic Agriculture Association (COAA) which are waiting to be officially accredited by the Council of Agriculture in the future are also executing the work of trial organic certification (Table 11).

6-5. Marketing of organic products

Imported organic foods

With the rapid economic growth, people in Taiwan is wealthier than before, so they are affordable to spend more money to buy high quality food stuffs including organic foods. Under this situation, the demand for organic food is becoming greater in recent years. Locally produced organic foods are often not enough to meet the requirement of consumers. Importation of organic foods from foreign countries becomes the way of solution. The main imported organic foods are vegetables (carrots, peppers onions potatoes etc.) and fruits (apple, grapes, rape fruits dates and plums), cereals and pulses (rice, wheat, oats, and soybean) processed food (sun flower oil, olive oil, salad dressing and spirulina) and beverage mostly from USA and Japan (Table 12).

Table12. List of US organic products imported into Taiwan by Organic World Company
Fresh vegetables and herbs Fruit Cereals and pulses Processed food Beverage
Carrots Apple Rice Olive oil Herbal tea
Peppers Grapes Wild rice Sunflower oil Apple juices
Onions Grape fruit Durum wheat Salad dressings Variousvegetable juices
Potatoes Dates Wheat flour Miso Red wine
Basil, OreganoRosemaryThyme Plums(dried) Oats Spirulina White wine
Raisins Soybeans Dulse flakes
Source: Gain Report # TW 0008 (38). Organic insight

One of the largest companies, “Organic World” which has 30 retail stores, act as the sole agent for Arrow Mills in Texas, Eden Food in Michigan, and Selt Herb and Shika Products in California. According to the Company, the most popular natural foods are organic grains and noodles followed by fresh organic fruit and vegetables. American products are the most popular among the imported products, but Japanese organic sauces and packaged products are also welcomed by the Taiwan market. As indicated in Table 13, organic grains and noodles occupied 40% of total organic sales, 90 % of which are from USA and 10 % from Australia. Dried fruits and nuts occupied 21 % of total organic sale for which 80 % are locally produced and 20 % are from USA. Seventy percent of packaged foods are imported from USA, followed by Japan (20%), France (5%) and Australia (5 %). Taiwan food distribution channels are rapidly shifting toward modern format including supermarkets, chain stores of franchise at the convenient stores also by e-commerce through web-site. The old channels such as farmers’ association traditional markets are declined.

Distribution of locally produced organic products

There were approximately 300 organic retails and groceries in Taiwan in 2002; however it
Table 13. Estimated organic food sales by “Organic World Company” in Taiwan (1977)
Product Percent of total organic sales Product source
Fruits & vegetables 10% USA (90%), Taiwan (10%)
Dried fruits and nuts 21% Taiwan (80%), USA (20%)
Drinks 15% USA (70%). France (15%). Japan (15%)
Grains & noodles 40% USA (90%), Australia (10%)
Sauces 10% USA (70%), Japan (25%), Australia (5%)
Packaged foods 5% USA (70%), Japan (20%, France (5%)Australia (5%)
Source: Trappy cited by Peter Twyford-Jones and Robert Doolan

increased rapidly to 643 this year (2004), a two-fold increase in two years. The organic products are sold through health-food stores (432 units), farm-door direct-sale (75 units), whole-sale companies (73 units), and supermarkets (63 units) which are distributed all over the island of Taiwan (Table 14).
According to Chan (1998), 40.5 percent of organic vegetables in Taiwan are directly sold to the consumers. Five to 6 percent of organic vegetables were sold through organic stores in 1998. It has been increased to be 37-63 percent in 2004. In 1998, 40 percent of organic vegetables were directly sold to the consumers while 39 percent were distributed through middle dealers, and 20.5 percent were through supermarket, organic stores and OPMT (Table 15, Figure 6). The marketing format has been changed greatly since that time. The proportion of supermarket sale of organic food in cities jumped up from 8 percent in 1998 to 84 percent in cities and 16 percent in rural based counties in 2004. The proportion of the sale through organic stores was 5-6 percent in 1998, and jumped up to be 37 percent in cities and 63 percent in counties (Table 16, Figure 7). This indicated that remarkable change in shifting from farm door direct sale and through middle dealers toward the modern conventional stores and organic healthy stores nowadays.
In the United States, 20 percent of organic foods are sold through conventional stores during the period of 1991 and 1995 but jumped up to 50 percent in the year of 2000. The amount of direct sale was shrieked from 30 percent in 1991-1995 to only less than 10 percent in 2000 (Figure 8). This indicated that organic products are more popularly obtainable from conventional stores and supermarket in the United States. In Europe, organic foods are mainly sold in conventional stores (Denmark: 90%, England 74 %, Austria 73 %) and organic stores (Netherlands 96 %, Germany and France 46 %). Six to 19 percent of organic foods are sold through direct sale by the farmers (Table 17)
There is a similar tendency of shifting from direct sell toward conventional and organic health stores especially in the cities of Taiwan, though not exactly the same pattern as that in the USA. It is felt that organic foods are more easily obtainable in many city supermarkets and county organic health stores in Taiwan. Farm door direct sale is still much higher in the rural based counties similar to that in the German organic market. This was because the organics are mainly produced in the rural area. The marketing behavior in Taiwan will certainly continue to change with the changes of organic food supply situation and people’s dietary habits and social changes.

Table 14. Number of organic food distributors in Taiwan (2004)
City and county Super market Farm door selling Whole-sell Company Health food stores and others Total
Taipei city 40 - 12 34 86
Keelung city 1 - 1 7 9
Ilan county 2 6 4 22 34
Hualien county 3 2 - 13 18
Taitung county 1 2 1 6 10
Taoyuan county 2 17 7 31 57
Hsinchu county - 2 4 15 21
Hsinchu city 1 2 - 21 24
Miaoli county - 4 2 11 17
Taichung county - 4 3 27 34
Taichung city 10 - 11 49 70
Chanhua county - 9 3 27 39
Nantou county - 4 6 13 23
Yunglin county - 3 - 21 24
Chiayi county - 2 1 4 7
Chiayi city - 14 14
Tainan county - 8 2 14 24
Tainan city - 3 5 23 31
Kaohsiung county 1 - 2 17 20
Kaohsiung city 1 1 5 49 56
Pintung city 1 6 3 14 24
Penghu county - - 1 - 1
Total 63 75 73 432 643

Table 15. Marketing of organic vegetables through different channels in Taiwan (1998)
Unit: (%)
Category of vegetables Direct sale Super-market Organic stores *PMT of farmers Middle dealers Total(%)
Leafy 33.1 13.7 5.1 3.8 44.3 100
Fruiting 51.6 9.5 6.2 13.5 19.2 100
Root-stem 36.9 0.7 5.5 3.3 53.6 100
Total 40,5 8.0 5.6 6.9 39.0 100
*Production and Marketing Team (PMT)
Source: Rearranged table from the partial data taken from the paper of Chan, Yih -Lang of Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute (1998)

Figure 6. A comparison of rate of different marketing channels for leafy-, fruiting-and root and stem vegetables in Taiwan (1998)

Table 16. A comparison of number and percentage of organic food distributors between city and county in Taiwan. (2004)
City or county Supermarket Farm door direct sell Whole- sale company Health organic Stores and others Total
City* 53 (84%) 3 (4%) 29 (40%) 160 (37%) 245 (38%)
County** 10 (16%) 72 (96%) 44 (60%) 272 (63%) 398 (62%)
Total 63 (100%) 75 (100%) 73 (100%) 432 (100%) 643 (100%)
* 5 cities including Taipei, Keelung, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi and Kaohsiung cities.
**16 counties as given in Table 1.

Figure 7. Proportion of different channels of organic sales in Taiwan in 2004

Figure 8. Yearly change of the proportion of organic foods sold in conventional and organic stores in the United States. (Note: others included direct sale and exportation). Source: Natural Foods Merchandiser, Package Facts

Table 17. Marketing of organic foods through different channels in European countries.
Unit: (%)
Countries Conventional stores Organic stores Direct sell by farmers Others Total (%)
Italy 23 60 17 0 100
Germany 26 46 19 9 100
Austria 73 9 18 0 100
France 38 46 16 0 100
Denmark 90 2 8 0 100
England 74 15 6 5 100
Netherlands 2 96 1 1 100

Organic food distribution through Women’s Environmental Protection League Foundation

In addition to the above mentioned routes, Women's Environmental Protection League Foundation in Taipei and Kaohsiung plays an important role in coordinated distribution of organic foods in Taiwan. The League, which has 3,000 members, purchases a great amount of organic foods directly from the “contracted organic farms”. The “organic food label” carrying products are then delivered directly to the houses of Team Leaders of the League. The members of the team then get the organic foods at the nearby Team Leader’s home. In this way, the housewives can get the certified organic foods directly from the producers every day. The trust and confidence are built between producers and consumers under this system. The operation of this system is very much similar to the scheme of “TEKEI” system in Japan (Japan Organic Agriculture Association 1993).

6-6. Organic food distribution through other routes

Gesp Organic Food Company

The Gesp Organic Food Company that is based in Kaohsiung collects organic products of 7 certified organic farms around Taiwan. This company sells all kinds of organic foods at its branch shops scattered across Taiwan. In addition to this, the company sells all kinds of imported organic foods including organic fruits, organic eggs, organic milk etc. Daily supply and prices of organic foods are listed in the web site (http://www.gesp.com.tw/). The consumers can buy the organic foods directly to Gesp Organic Shops or order the products through e-commerce system. The ordered organic foods are delivered to the buyer’s homes immediately through a fast home delivery transportation system. An example of a list of marketing information on the web site is listed in Table 18.
The sale of organic foods from Gesp Organic Food Company is becoming more and more popular today. It certainly played an important role in the marketing of locally produced organic foods and for imported organic foods. For further information, please contact the company: Tel: 0928737141; (07) 7165823, Fax: (07) 7160370.

Hsin-Yi-Fang Enterprise

"Hsin-Yi-Fung Enterprise" has its own six organic farms with a total area of 10 hectares. The organic products are sent to the markets through three channels: (1) to its chain stores in Taipei, Touyuan and Tainan; (2) distribute the organic foods directly to the customer’s homes through the firm’s chain stores; (3) whole sale to health stores and organic stores scattered on the island of Taiwan
Table 18. Marketing prices of organic foods given in the web site (http://www.gesp.com.tw/)
Product No. Items Package content Price (NT$)
L01 Pea 1200 g 60
L02 Organic brown rice 3 kg 225
L06 Organic white rice 3 kg 250
L07 Organic faro, carrot 20 g 35
L08 Organic spinach 220 g 35
L10 Embryo attached organic rice 3 kg 240
L11 Rice noodle 220 g 32
L13 Organic oats 454 g 85
L14 Organic buckwheat 454 g 65
L15 Imported organic soybeans 600 g 55
L16 Red waxy rice 450 g 100
L18 Organic millet 450 g 100
L19 Organic wild rice 1800 g 210
L20 Sun flower seeds 1 l 120
L24 Organic seeds of jute 300 g 70
L25 Organic cereals 900 g 130
Note: Only a few organic foods are listed here as an example in this table.

6-7. Pricing of organic vegetables according to different marketing channels

Huang and Fang (2000) studied marketing routes and pricing of organic vegetables in Taiwan. According to their studies, the price of vegetables varied greatly with the supply of vegetables. Sixty three percent of total organic products are sold indirectly with the price 30-100% higher than that of conventionally produced products. The direct sale gets a higher profit than indirect sale (Tale 20). In the Unites States organic foods get 35-200 % premium price over non- organic foods (Table 2). The price of organic foods in European countries is also very high especially in Italy, where 50-200 % premium is commonly seen for organic vegetables (Table 4).

Table 19. Partial list of retailers and groceries of organic foods in Taiwan
Taipei Region
Weichuan Chung-ChingPh: (02)23370705Organic vegetables Sung-Ching Super MarketPh: (02)23370705Organic vegetables Hui-kang Super MarketPh: (02)23370705Organic vegetables
Chan-Jung Organic ShopPh: (02) 27979178Organic peaches, Organic vegetables Sogo Super MarketPh: (02)27737924Organic vegetables Min-Yao Super MarketPh: (02)27737924Organic vegetables
Central Taiwan Region
Organic WorldPh: (04)22439195Organic peaches Li-Jen Tea Shop Taichung Branch IPh: (040)6229175Organic tea Li-JenTea Shop Changhua BranchPh: (04)3365599Organic tea
Taichung Tea ShopPh: (04)23281302Organic tea Li-Jen Tea Shop Taichung Branch IIPh: (04)24210446Organic Oolung tea Yi-Shiang Organic Tea FarmPh: (049)2582285Organic tea, organic peaches
Southern Taiwan Region
Tainan Holidy FarmPh: (06)2782441Organic vegetables Taisugar Honey Neighbor Shop Tatung BranchPh: (06)2157625Organic vegetables Taisugar Huney Neighbor Shop tsung-Te Rod. Branch (I)Ph: (06)3353264Organic vegetables
Mei-TouyiPh: (06)2344349Organic vegetable Bu-Bo GardenPh: (06)2042374Organic vegetables Kuan-YuanPh: (05)2866970Organic vegetables
Kaoshiung and Pintung Region
Pou-ling ShopPh: (07)7266213Organic vegetables Luyeh tzeun ShopPh: (07)2368962Organic vegetables Fukang-liPh: (07)7635175Organic vegetables
Li-Jen Tea Shop Kaoshiung Branch. ph: (07)3847892organic tea Yang-sengPh: (07)7138730Organic vegetables Wu-chia Source of EnergyPh: (07)8123068Organic vegetables
Eastern Region
Ta-Ti HotelPh: (089)864330Organic fruit (peaches0 Puti Organic GardenPh: (089)325865Organic fruits (peaches)

Table 20. Routes and prices of marketing organic vegetables in Taiwan
Marketing routes Average price (NT$/catty) Marketing routes Average price (NT$/catty)
Indirect sale Direct sale
To middle dealer 25.6 Direct sale in cooperation with other farmers 28.1
To P.M.T.* 38.5 Direct sale on the farm 38.9
To Home delivery Co. 20.3 Home delivery by farmers 56.6
To supermarket 48.8 Direct sale on the market 43.6
To organic store 41.7 Direct sale at self operated organic stores 47.6
To restaurant 40.2
Others 42.1 Others 16.8
Sub total 31.3 Sub-total 42.8
P.M.T. (Production and Marketing Team) Source: Huang C. J. and C. T. Fang, 2000.

Conclusion
Organic agriculture has rapidly developed world-wide during the last few years. Organic monitor of Organic Consumers Association (2003) puts global organic food sale at US$26 billion and will approach US$ 80 billion in 2008. The EU and United States showed the highest market growth for organic markets. Japan has the third largest market for organic foods after EU and the USA (Yussefi and Willer 2003). High growth in organic market is being observed in Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Republic of Korea, and Taiwan; however these markets remain a small portion of the size of Japanese market. In 2000, the market for organic foods including Chinese “green foods” in Asia was estimated at US$ 2.5 billion. Recently “green food” in China was considered to be organic food. However, there is still no internationally accredited organic standards in China, therefore their organic certification must relay on the importing country such as Japan and USA. New standards for organic products with “JAS Organic” label have been introduced by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (applied since 1 April 2001).
The market in Japan is reported to be growing rapidly, as consumers are becoming more concerned with their health and also with environment. The introduction of clearer regulations of “JAS Organic” label for organic products helps people to understand what organic food is. This contributed further growth in organic consumption in Japan. The Japanese market for certified organic food was US$250 million in 2000 (Yussefi and Willer 2003). The amount of retail sales of organic foods and beverages in Japan was further grown up to be US$350-450 million in 2003 (Table 1) as estimated by Organic Consumer Association (2003), with the long term, potential being much greater (Yussefi and Willer 2003).
There are two streams of organic agriculture in Asia, one as part of sustainable farming and the other as export-oriented organic projects. The first is supported by NGO, and the other initiated by business sector. The sustainable agriculture movement emerged in 1970s as reflection to green revolution, while the commercial organic farming is the products of commercial collaboration between Asian food exporting countries (Panyakul 2004). The Organic enterprise model is seeking opportunity for exporting organic products to advanced countries. MOA natural farming enterprise in Japan and green food development enterprise in China and organic importing companies in Singapore and Taiwan belong to this category.
Due to their export orientation, the private organic enterprise needed to rely on foreign certification services from importing countries. While the small-scale farms are working with family farm and mainly targeted at domestic market in most Asian countries. As the market expands, more and more small scale farms will form themselves into Production and Marketing Team (PMT). This will enable to enlarge the scale of production and marketing in a cooperative way. The team then began to seek an export opportunities while keeping the local market as their primary objectives. This type of organic farm production is very common in Taiwan (as the case of Lu-Chou Organic Production and Marketing Team) and other Asian countries as mentioned in this paper. In this case, local competency has to be developed by assistance from local government as well as from importing countries to establish local organic certification performance.
The Asian governments have become interested in organic farming for last 5 years. Even though the organic market further expanded, the major organic farming in Asia is still mainly targeted at the local consumption. The building of public organic standards and inspection system will harmonize organic quarantine system and make contribution to Asian organic growth. Private partnership is urgently needed, if rapid growth in organic agriculture in Asia is to be sustained.
Reorientation of government policies toward organic farming is urgently needed for most Asian countries including Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. This will include the governmental support for farm extension, post harvesting technology development, and marketing strategy of organic products. Public participation will ensure that organic production and marketing can be further enhanced in Asia.
In this paper special emphasis is laid on the Taiwan experience of organic farming as a part of Asian organic farming activities. Taiwan has a 20-year history of organic farming. Presently a total of 1,092.4 hectares of certified organic farms are in operation in Taiwan to produce organic foods (rice, tea, medicinal plants, vegetables and fruits). The area of organic farm increased drastically from 195.6 hectares in 1996 to 1012.5 hectares in 2000; however the area is not expanding anymore and remained at the present area of 1092.4 hectares in 2004. Why the local organic farming area stop growing while organic markets keep growing in Taiwan? This question should be discussed to find the answer. As the imported organic foods increases in Taiwan, there is a keen competition between locally produced organics and the imported ones. The consumers are very much concerned about whether the so-called organics are really organically grown under the established standard. Unless sound trust between producers and consumers is mutually built, the consumers are reluctant to buy the organic foods on the market at a premium price. In this regard, the direct marketing of organic foods through Women’s Environmental Protection League Foundation in Taiwan and “TEIKEI” system in Japan as stated in this paper are considered to be the good systems for solution. Under these systems mutual trust and confidence between producers and consumers are built.
Recently the consumers in Taiwan buy more imported organic foods mostly from Japan and USA. The biggest organic chain store company “Green Little Town Co.” based in Kaohsiung has 29 chain stores across Taiwan. The company is selling more than 800 kinds of organic foods including 40 kinds of locally produced ones. Most organics sold at the company are imported. The consumers seem to have more confidence with “USDA organic” or “JAS organic” labeled products. This is because they are certified with reliable “international standard” to ensure that the products are “real” organic foods. The consumers know that both USA and Japanese organic law have penalty regulations to penalize the violators of the law. This will prevent producers and dealers from putting the fake-labeled organic products on the market. However, this kind of organic penalty regulation is not included in newly promulgated organic law in Taiwan, so the consumers are not sure whether the locally produced organic products are really organically grown, even they are real ones. The consumers tended to side the “internationally certified organic products” over the “locally certified organic products”. This situation will affect consumption of the locally produced organic foods. This is probably one of the reasons why the organic area is stand still in Taiwan today. The writer believes that similar situation can happen in other Asian countries, unless the proper measure is implemented. In order to protect consumers, the importer should import the “real organic foods” which are certified by the reliable internationally accredited certification agencies. The fake-labeled organic food dealers should be heavily penalized using the available law in Taiwan. . This is very important measure to be taken, as long as competition exists between the locally produced and imported organic products.
Further, it is interesting to note that Taiwan’s retail stores for organic foods increased to 643 units today (2004) compared to 300 units in 2002 which is two-fold increase in two years. This indicates the dynamics of organic market in Taiwan. Today 84 percent of organic foods are sold at supermarket in city and 16 percent in the super markets of rural county, rest is sold at organic health stores (Figure 7). This means that organic foods are easily accessible in the conventional market. This is in line with the recent trend of organic sale in the USA (Figure 8). It is hoped that organic production and marketing will be further expanded in Taiwan as well as in other Asian countries after the proper measures are implemented to solve the various problems encountered.
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Taiwan organic

2009年2月25日星期三

台灣農努聯盟成立

誓言護林地 19榮民簽死亡書

2008年4月9日星期三

Organic Farming for Sustainable Agriculture in Asia

網誌存檔

Taiwan organic

2009年2月25日 星期三

台灣農努聯盟成立

誓言護林地 19榮民簽死亡書

2008年4月9日 星期三

Organic Farming for Sustainable Agriculture in Asia

網誌存檔

2009年2月25日星期三

2008年4月9日星期三