Impact of EU organic product certification legislation on Chile organic exports

Empirical studies have underlined the importance of technical trade barriers in the agricultural sector. For organic food products, national differences in standards and certification systems could act as a major non-tariff barrier for exporting countries, particularly developing countries, which could eventually fail to benefit from the increasing market opportunities for organic products in developed countries. This paper presents the results of a study on the impact of EU organic certification legislation on Chile organic exports where the lack of an equivalent system forces Chilean organic exports to enter the EU through the 'back door', that is, through special import permits, with the resulting increase in transaction costs as products accepted in one EU country may not be accepted in another. The paper reports also on the recent legislative developments to establish a national certification system in Chile for organic products and the problems encountered to make it operational. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.