A list of European Union companies that import organic pulses is now
available to Saskatchewan’s 1,100 certified organic producers.
The list, which was compiled by the province’s agriculture department,
includes contact names and numbers, the products they import and the
certifications they will accept.
Chandra Mark, the department’s international development specialist,
created the list by interviewing 17 EU companies at BioFach 2002, the
world’s largest organic trade show, which was held in Nuremberg,
Germany, in February.
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“A few of the companies are already importing organic pulses from
Saskatchewan and all were very open to Saskatchewan products,” Mark
said.
The list includes importers from Italy, France, United Kingdom and the
Netherlands, but most are from Germany, which is the EU’s biggest
customer for organic products. Organic food consumption in Germany is
expected to increase 17 percent a year over the next five years.
EU buyers are looking for chickpeas, yellow peas, green peas, red
lentils, green lentils, pinto beans, white beans and azuki beans. They
have traditionally bought them from Canada, China, Turkey and the
United States.
Mark said most of the companies she talked to prefer EU certification,
specifically EU Regulation 2092/91, but nearly all of them said they
would also accept certifications from other countries.
Most of the companies she interviewed said they would accept
certifications from Pro-Cert, Organic Crop Improvement Association,
Quality Assurance International and Farm Verified Organic.
