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What often gets forgotten is just how much organic brings people together and how a global commitment to this trusted food supply is such a unifying force.
As a result of tireless efforts from advocates throughout Europe, exports from Ukraine to the EU and Switzerland totaled 225,814 metric tons of organic products, an astonishing 13% year-over-year growth versus 2021, according to an analysis of the Ukrainian Certification Body Organic Standard.
Critical to this success has been the financial support from the Swiss government-backed State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which directs funds to an initiative called the Quality Food Trade Program (QFTP).
In partnership with consulting firm SAFOSO, the Switzerland-based Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) implements the QFTP and has been working in Ukraine to develop the organic sector there for the last 20 years. FiBL has a team of 300 professionals, the majority of whom work on behalf of Swiss and EU organic farmers but 30 of them are focused on organic agriculture in emerging countries around the globe.
With the dramatic disruption of the organic food supply chain in Ukraine, executives from FiBL told their donors that project funds needed to be immediately reallocated for emergency support of organic farms.
In addition to launching simultaneous private fundraising campaigns, the organization had to understand exactly which organic operations were still viable. According to a July 2022 survey of organic businesses in Ukraine, conducted by the Organic Initiative and Organic Ukraine NGO, 70% of organic operators were continuing production and processing, either fully or partially.
One thing that played in their favor was that in 2021, Ukraine experienced record yields, much of which was still in storage. But figuring out the logistics of bringing the organic products — primarily soybeans, sunflower, corn, wheat, spelt, buckwheat and berries — out of the country posed a formidable challenge.
It was nearly impossible to export by sea, such as what had been done historically for exports bound for the U.S. Additionally, some railways were destroyed, and finding truck drivers proved to be exceedingly difficult because so many of the men were mobilized to support Ukraine.
As a result, shipping costs doubled or tripled, which, fortuitously, ended up being covered by the market. European customers happily paid these prices in order to back the organic community in Ukraine and help keep the organic sector there alive.
In order to facilitate these commercial activities and communicate why prices were so much higher, FiBL conducted online business events, did podcasts and facilitated matchmaking activities, such as the organization of Online Organic Export Days, the Ukrainian National Pavilion at Biofach in July 2022 and the international celebration of Ukrainian Organic Day last September.
MOVING FORWARD
Given the circumstances, 2022 proved to be much more successful than anyone could have imagined.
However, looking ahead, the picture remains quite opaque.
Yields from the 2022 harvest were not nearly as good as those in 2021, and with this harvest still in storage, it is unclear how much of that volume can be exported. Furthermore, last fall, much of Ukraine’s electrical grid stopped functioning, which meant that many farmers could not dry their harvests or freeze their berries. Generators were sent in from Western Europe, something that helped but did not completely solve the problem.
More broadly, the overall organic market and infrastructure have been gutted.
Aside from the decreased number of organic farmers and a steep reduction in output, many people working on the administration and policy side of the industry have fled Ukraine and may never come back.
This is particularly tragic because pre-2022, Ukraine’s organic domestic market had been gaining fantastic traction, growing by about 20% each year and accounting for 3-5% of the country’s overall food sales.
In the meantime, FiBL is forging ahead with its work. Along with its financial support, matchmaking activities and fundraisers, FiBL continues with its training of organic farmers to help them improve production and manage diseases on their land. Recently, the QFTP and other international donor programs funded the participation and attendance of 23 Ukrainian organic exporters at Biofach 2023 in Germany.
“For our organic projects in Ukraine, we cannot plan one to three years in advance, as we did in the past,” acknowledged Dr. Toralf Richter, deputy leader of the group value chains & markets at the FiBL. “Now, it is month to month, and the only thing we can do is focus on the remaining parts of the country still under the Ukrainian flag.”
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For any U.S. or international organic brands that wish to participate in the matchmaking activities, FiBL recommends making a financial donation supporting the Ukrainian organic sector. Two very reputable organizations that will get money directly into the hands of Ukrainian organic farmers are Support of the Organic Sector of Ukraine and Grant Program by the German Organic Project.
(Group photo of the 23 Ukrainian organic exporters with First Deputy Minister Taras Vysotskyi, middle — bottom row.)
(FiBL and IFOAM staff stand in solidarity with Ukraine.)
(FiBL’s Dr. Toralf Richter giving a welcome speech at the Ukraine pavilion.)
As many of you may know, Natural Products Expo West is next week, and I will be documenting each day in Anaheim on my Instagram Stories. Please be sure to follow along.
Also, if you’ll be at the show and would like to come say hello, I will be moderating two panels.
*Understanding & Supporting the Agricultural “E” in ESG
Thursday, March 9th at 1:30pm
Marriott, Grand Ballroom F
* Is Precision Fermentation Regenerative? Problems and Solutions with GMOs 2.0
Friday, March 10th at 2:30pm
Marriott, Marquis NE
In case you missed it, here was my full recap of Expo West 2022.
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With gratitude, 
Max Goldberg, Founder |
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