The Organic Sector in Slovakia

In Slovakia, close to 23,000 hectares of land are dedicated to organic agriculture. 278 farms operate according to organic guidelines, and there are 98 organic importers and 55 organic processors. In 2007, the amount of money spent on organic food was less than 1 euro per person, and the market share of organics was less than 1 %. Important actors in the organic sector are Tesco, Coop Jednota and Billa. So far, consumers are not well informed about organic food, although consumer awareness is rising. 

Organic food production in Slovakia started in 2000, which was quite late if we bear in mind that the first farms were launched in 1991. Organic processing in Slovakia is carried out by very small enterprises and no data was available on this sector for 2007. The results of a new survey on organic food organised by the Slovak Statistical Office and the central Control and Testing Institute in Agriculture are expected to be published soon. (Picture: Ekotrend Myjava)

Before the year 2000, the country was export-orientated. Raw, unprocessed, primary products were exported to countries in the EU and to Switzerland. In 2002, small health shops started their business by selling herbal teas and milling products in a quite simple way - producers came to the shopkeepers and offered them their products. The few health food stores which are selling organic products now have a limited turnover of organic food. In 2003, the supermarket chain Carrefour started to bake organic bread and planned to sell some Slovak organic food. At first, the bread was prepared by a French bakery, but now Slovak bakery flour is available, which has lowered the price of the product by almost 50 %. 

In 2004, the Slovak supermarket chain Coop Jednota allocated specific shelves to organic products, aiming at health-orientated young consumers, since organic products are regarded as fashion products, and at young families, since they were prepared to buy healthy food for their babies and small children. In the autumn of 2007, Tesco launched its own campaign, the first to promote organics in Slovakia, and established the organic food programme, Tesco Organic. However, organics do not sell well, since consumers still do not understand the meaning of the term organic. Nevertheless, Billa has put a wide range of foreign organic foods onto its shelves, although the only domestic products are fresh vegetables. No national programme exists to promote organics, since activities like tastings, leaflets, etc., would be too expensive. There is no specialised organic wholesaling in Slovakia. (Picture: Planeta Food)

Consumers have hitherto not been well informed about organics. Although consumer awareness has been developing recently, there is still a lack of knowledge and information. Customers go to health food shops because of their concern for their health and because they represent a certain life style. Less involved consumers buy organic food mainly by chance, not knowing exactly what it is all about. The only reason may be that they think it is good for the environment. Organics are expensive, which is considered to be a limiting factor for the development of the market. Consumers are not concerned about the origin of the organic products they buy, so organic yoghurts, which are imported, are very popular. (Picture: Bio-shop “U malého princa”)

One organic ice cream producer sells his whole production to Germany. Organic milk goes to the Czech Republic, where milk and yoghurt processing is increasingly taking place, and the products are re-imported to Slovak supermarkets. Fresh fruit and vegetable are sold to countries like Austria and Germany. No organic meat is available in Slovakia and animals bred in the country are sold to other EU member states, an example being Italy. The best selling domestic products in Slovak retail are milled products, pasta, cakes, cheese and bryndza (a white sheep milk cheese). The best selling imported product groups are dried fruits, birch juice and yoghurts. The most important countries exporting to Slovakia are Turkey, Ukraine and Austria.

Table: Profile of retail channels selling organics
 

Source: Specialised Organic Retail Report Europe 2008

The organic sector is expected to change in the future. Domestic production needs to be expanded, and especially dairy products need to be manufactured in the country. Since consumers are becoming increasingly interested in organics, they should be able to purchase those products, especially in supermarkets, and it is essential to expand the product range. Communication between shopkeepers and consumers ought to be improved as well, and organics should also be available in smaller towns.
 

Centrum environmentálnych aktivít, the Centre for Environmental Activities, is a civic association founded in 1994. It gathers together people sharing an interest in environmental issues and its aim is to improve the quality of life in Trenèín, a city in western Slovakia near the Czech border. Various activities take place. The services available at the Environmental Education Centre „Baranèek“  include an environmental library (about 2,000 titles) and a video-library (about 150 titles),  improving the system of environmental education in schools at national level in cooperation with the Society of Environmental Education Organisations „Špirála“ and the Ministry of Education, training programmes for teachers, publishing teaching materials and teaching aids, after-school activities for children such as The Club Orchis, trips to protected landscape areas combined with nature-conservation work, and educational and promotional activities for the public (Earth Day, Car-Free Day, TV-Free Week, etc.). (Picture: Sad Livia)

The goal of the programme Trenèín 21 is for Trenèín to become a city with functioning mobility, decent housing, a high quality of life, respect for nature, traditions and history, and partner cooperation in making fundamental decisions (e.g. urban planning, big investments, etc.) with long-term effects on the lives of all the citizens of Trenèín. The programme includes the publication of a newsletter “Trenèín 21”, which is written with the collaboration of the environmental NGO “Pre Prírodu” (For Nature), and is distributed to every household in Trenèín (22,000 copies). The Centre also runs a programme to support ecological farming.  One of the initiatives is the club of friends of organic farming called “Club BIO-papa” that meets once a month and supplies local organic produce like potatoes, some vegetables and dairy products to club members. Other club activities include a photo exhibition, lectures, videos, exchange of information on new literature, events, etc. A web page for organic consumers, funded from private sources, has been running since 2004 and has about 2,000 visits a day. The current project is Implementation of Organic Food to School Canteens and the Curriculum. (see logo to the left).

There are two competitions whose objective is to create a positive image for organic farming. One of them is Biopotravina roka, where consumers vote for their favourite Slovak organic food of the year. The product must contain at least 90 % ingredients of Slovak origin. This contest has been organized by the Centre since 2005. The other one is Biofarma roka, which gives an award for the best organic farm of the year. It is a novelty which was organised for the first time this year by the union of organic farming Ekotrend Slovakia.

Some farms open their gates to the public, but only on a small scale - up to five farms a year. So far, there are no regular fairs for organic products. There was just one in the past, as a part of Days of Organic Farming. For the first time ever, Biosummit, a specialist conference on the organic sector, was held in Slovakia as a part of the Biostyl exhibition promoting a healthy lifestyle. It attracted about 80 people from various sectors like the Czech and Slovak Ministries of Agriculture, the Control and Testing Institute in Agriculture, the inspection body Naturalis SK, producers of organic food, farmers, research, business and NGOs. The main topic of the conference was the processing and preparation of organic produce in Slovakia ready for the market. The conference was organised by the two NGOs Felicius o.p.s. and CEA, with support of theControl and Testing Institute in Agriculture.

Regidis s.r.o , (picture) located in Povazska Bystrica, is an organic sheep farm producing cheese made from 100 % sheep milk. A range of products is sold: the so-called white lump cheese is a traditional Slovak cheese with a high protein content. Smoked lump cheese combines the taste of the sheep’s milk and beech-wood smoke. “Ostiepok“ is a unique smoked sheep milk cheese - it is produced only in Slovakia and is protected by the European Commission. It is hand-crafted in ornamental moulds. Spicy sheep milk cheese is a matured cheese full of healthy micro-organisms that keep the immune system strong by maintaining the balance of the intestinal flora.

Sheep milk cheese smoked in oil has additional herbs and olives and is also suitable for cooking. “Bryndza”, the Slovak cottage cheese, is protected by the European Commission as well. Since it is made from non-pasteurised sheep milk, it contains up to 1 billion healthy micro-organisms per gram, which also keeps the immune system strong. Cheese strips are made from matured white cheese and can be served as a snack. The cheese drink “Zincica“ contains minerals, microelements, vitamins and of course proteins, and supports peristalsis and the intestinal flora. White yoghurt is made from non-pasteurised sheep milk and contains active yoghurt cultures.
 

This farm has existed since around 1960. It was established and controlled by the socialist government but after the regime changed it was rented by the current owner, Olga Apolenikova. She has been running it since 1992. Initially, she kept cattle, dairy cows and pigs. Since the price of pork meat and cows’ milk has fallen in recent years, she decided to convert the farm and in 2005 it became an ecological sheep farm that is today certified as a farm for the production and sale of cheese products. It has a modern milking machine and the equipment required for professional cheese production.
 
At first, products were sold at the farm gate. Every year there is an open-door day at the farm, with traditional artists and craftsmen, live music, and traditional food and dairy products are served (picture to the right). The company also attends various local sales days. Today, the farm has 1,000 sheep and its cheese products are now on sale in Slovak cheese shops. The company is looking for new sales territories for their healthy eco-cheese products and contacts have recently been established in Sweden. The customers are people who regard a healthy lifestyle as an important issue and people who simply like traditional Slovak cheese products. However, the demand is so high that these original sheep milk cheese products are hard to find in Slovakia nowadays.
 

Numerous awards have already gone to the company. In 2006 and 2007, it won the first and second place awards from the Slovak Guild of Cheese Producers. In 2008, it came first in the Slovak cheese competition "Ovenalie", and in 2009 it won awards for coming both first and second in the same competition. In 2008, Ms Apolenikova received an award as the most successful woman entrepreneur in Slovakia. The company is certified organic and also carries the Slovak quality logo issued by the Slovak Ministry of Agriculture.

More information about the organic market in Europe can be found in:
"The Specialised Organic Retail Report Europe 2008". The report gives a very good survey on all European countries including the non EU-countries. It can be ordered for 260 Euros:
Ecozept, Phone: + 49 (0) 8161-14820, Fax: + 49 (0) 8161-148222