Argentina: a leader in organic production

Argentina is an important producer and exporter of organic food in the southern hemisphere. The country ranks second in area under organic production with more than 4 million hectares of land. The range of organic food provided by Argentina includes oils, sugar cane, meat, cereals, oilseeds, spices and herbs, fresh fruit, processed fruits and vegetables, flour, pulses, fruit juices, milk, honey and wine.  
                                            
Argentina started organic production in the mid 80's. In 1992, Argentina had about 4,500 hectares of organic land, distributed among 51 organic operators. The offer was then limited to certain fruits and oilseeds. In 2009, there were more than 2,000 organic operators working on over 4 million hectares of land, of which 3.097,128 hectares were dedicated to livestock production (cattle and sheep) for the production of meat and dairy products, and 904,873 ha for industrial crops, cereals, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, herbs, teas (tea and yerba mate), honey and wine.
 

The growth of the organic production system in Argentina was based on four main factors: agroecological qualities; the appropriate regulatory framework in full accordance with the standards of CODEX Alimentarius, FAO/WHO; convinced producers; and the technical-professional quality of national certification agencies that signed responsibility contracts with their Asian, European and American counterparts and thus were able to open new markets. 
 
To achieve and consolidate the position of the leadership in production and export of organic food in the southern hemisphere in the past 17 years, Argentinian companies have modernized their systems, set up and constantly improved packing and storage of fresh and processed products, and developed an efficient service of logistics for export.

As one of the most important organic exporters from Argentina, GREEMT is working with local producers and institutions to boost the organic industry. The company is specialized in the export of frozen fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, honey seeds and cereals (flax, sunflower, safflower, oat, and wheat). “Our main objective is to drive the organic production in Argentina and to train and help small operators to produce high quality organic products”, Martín Romero, manager of GREEMT in Europe for Germany, UK and the Netherlands. The company is currently developing a new line of organic retail products under the brand name 'Las Brisas'. The line includes organic frozen vegetables, jams and fruit juices from their farm in Santa Fe City. The target markets for the new line will be the UK and Germany. (Pictures by GREEMT: Organic products of Argentina)

GREEMT