Saskatchewan Marketing Organic Products in Europe

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

For the past six years, the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP) and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) have successfully joined forces to lead delegations to BioFach, the world's largest organic trade fair, held annually in Nuremburg, Germany.

Together, the partners have successfully raised the profile of Saskatchewan’s organic industry via participation in the Canadian Pavilion at the show, according to SAF’s International Business Development Specialist Renata Bereziuk.

“BioFach is of interest to the producers and processors of organic and natural products, including raw materials, convenience foods, grains, seeds, pulses, herbs, spices, flavourings, cosmetics and consumer goods, as well as organic farmer and processor associations and health food suppliers."

Over the past number of years, the European Union’s (EU) organic food sector has created a tremendous opportunity for Saskatchewan certified organic products. At present, Saskatchewan ships organic wild rice, grains, pulses, seeds and flour to the EU, but Canada is in danger of losing access to EU markets because the EU has implemented a mandatory organic standard and certification system. In order to maintain access to the EU organic market, trading partners were to be on a third-country equivalency list by December 31, 2005. Canada has been granted a one-year extension. Officials from the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are highly optimistic that Canada will successfully obtain third-country equivalency.

“In past shows,” explains Dale Botting, President and CEO of STEP, “the Province of Saskatchewan has had by far the largest Canadian presence at the show. Organic agriculture provides a niche marketing opportunity that this province is well-suited to fill."

Companies that have participated in past shows noted a lot of interest in the Saskatchewan companies, he says. By setting up appointments prior to the show and then walking the show, they were able to obtain solid leads for follow-up.

One such success story is Naturally Nutritious Foods Inc. of Spalding, owned by Eric and Betty Leicht. Their company has been growing and processing organic grains and pulses since 1991. Mr. Leicht believes that attending BioFach is the best way to meet European and American organic importers, wholesalers and retailers.

“We have been going to BioFach for five or six years now," he explains. "Europe has been quite aggressive in organics—more so than Canada. The European demand for organic products continues to increase. The U.S. market is increasing also."

One of the ways the Leichts work the show is to bring small samples of some of their grains, just to give potential customers an idea of what they have.

“European and American companies are our biggest markets, so we socialize with their agents while we are at the fair. There are eight or nine halls at the show, and each is very large. There are about 35,000 visitors to the show every year. The more they see you, the better it is," Leicht says.

Naturally Nutritious markets primarily peas, lentils, split peas, oats, barley, wheat, durum, spelt, flax and mustard.

“Most of them take our products and either small-package them or put them on the retail shelves,” Leicht says. “In the case of cereals, they may use them for flour. They are ending up in specialized stores, but more and more are finding their way into supermarkets, which are getting into organics all around Europe.”

STEP’s Botting notes that, in 2006, participation by Saskatchewan companies was down slightly, as was the case with Canadian participation, in general, due to a poor crop year and market access concerns.

“It will be STEP’s—and SAF's—goal to use BioFach to maintain contacts with international buyers, and to ensure that Saskatchewan is the first place that comes to mind when buyers think of organic products," he says.

To find out more about BioFach, visit: http://www.biofach.de/main/d3zq3jg8/page.html

For more information, contact:

Renata Bereziuk
International Business Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
306-787-8541


Dale Botting
President and CEO
Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership
306-787-9210

Eric Leicht
Naturally Nutritious Foods Inc.
306-287-3954