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The Federal Office of Agriculture of Switzerland and the Agricultural and Livestock Service of Chile (SAG), have agreed to the mutual recognition of the rules that apply to organic products. The equivalence agreement that seals this mutual recognition goes into effect today and will facilitate trade in organic products between the two countries.
The agreement negotiated between Switzerland and Chile implies the mutual recognition of equivalence of the requirements of organic production and the control systems used in this area. This agreement specifically means that organic food produced in Switzerland can be sold in Chile without having to undergo new controls. The same will apply to the marketing of Chilean organic products in Switzerland.
The Minister of Agriculture, Antonio Walker highlighted this agreement and noted that “in our country there are about 15,000 hectares of organic production, and more than US $ 200 million of food of this type is exported and this agreement is another step to support Many people who have invested capital to produce organic products, such as food and wine, for example. What we are looking for with these agreements is to facilitate the trade of this type of products, promoting the exchange of initiatives and policies that aim at the development of this type of production ”.
The equivalence agreement applies to organic products produced or manufactured, processed or packaged in Switzerland or Chile. Organic products of animal origin from Chile, except those from beekeeping (for example, honey), are excluded from the agreement.
The equivalence agreement with Chile will facilitate trade in organic products, thus contributing to the development of the organic sector in Switzerland and Chile. This agreement will also improve the protection of the respective organic characteristics and intensify bilateral collaboration in regulatory aspects related to organic production.
Thanks to this new agreement, the Swiss organic sector will benefit from the same conditions that competition in the European Union enjoys to export to Chile, which had already concluded such an agreement in 2017.
Source: https://www.sag.gob.cl/noticias/chile-logra-apertura-del-mercado-suizo-para-productos-organicos