To counter the all-round communication of large retailers on organic products and try to prevent a fall in prices, organic farmers are beefing up their offer with a fair label that guarantees producers' remuneration.
The “fair French organic” label (BFE) launched by the Federation of Organic Agriculture (Fnab) guarantees consumers organic vegetables produced in France and a remunerative price for organic farmers, thus taking up the criteria of the Law on the Economy social and solidarity initiative of 2014, which defines fair trade
In collaboration with the Picard frozen food group
"The organic market is developing, the opportunity arose to build strong partnerships with agrifood companies on organic which corresponds to our values", said Stéphanie Pageot, national secretary of Fnab, quoted on Tuesday in a press release.
Launch in the Southwest with @picardsurgeles of the 1st range of products labeled "Bio.Français.Equitable" as part of a pilot project of # relocation of vegetable sectors for processing. # BioFrançaisEquitable pic.twitter.com/BvsA5C14c3
- FNAB (@fnab_bio) February 18, 2020The BFE label is the result of work with the Picard frozen-food group, which is experimenting with the launch from March 2 of an organic and local range distributed in its stores in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie, before perhaps to expand. Picard has signed tripartite contracts with three organizations of organic producers and a processor in the South West of France.
"We sought to enhance this commitment, that's how the idea for a label came about," explains Stéphanie Pageot.
"The risk of seeing the organic denatured"
“In 2015, with the change of scale of organic farming, we went from 7% annual growth in conversion rates to 15-18%. Organic farming has emerged from its niche and has been completely institutionalized. All operators have taken it over: distribution, processing operators, institutions, the banking system, ”Guillaume Riou, president of Fnab, reminded AFP.
Distributors have thus been seen to use organic products as appeal products by cutting prices. However, for organic farmers, the important thing is to avoid aligning their prices downward, which would no longer compensate for the additional costs of this production method.
"The organic food market is at a turning point," explains the Xerfi Precepta consulting firm. "It is still showing real enthusiasm with sales up 14% in 2019 and promising prospects by 2022 (+ 12% per year on average to approach 15 billion euros)" .
But “the risk of seeing the organic denatured from its original values continues to grow in the face of the explosion in demand and the offensives of conventional brands and large retailers. Price war, industrialization of production… the market is about to fall into the trap of the conventional under the guise of making it accessible to all ”, underlines the cabinet.
Fair trade, a first brick
The Fnab has decided to counter this “deflationary risk by massification”.
"Fair trade was therefore the first brick to restore an important place in the value chain to farmers facing the world of processing and distribution and to ultimately satisfy the consumer with a price that is not exaggerated", argues Guillaume Riou.
"The specifications of the European organic regulation are very suitable for this transition phase, but that does not encompass everything, there are lots of new questions that are asked," says Guillaume Riou, mentioning for example biodiversity , climate change, social dimensions, or even the issue of animal welfare.
"We absolutely have to answer all these challenges", and for that "we will have to add other bricks over time" to the organic label, because the agronomic criteria of the charter are no longer sufficient.
Blooming labels
And opposite, other players are multiplying initiatives to meet the demand for healthy and ethical food from consumers, who can sometimes lose their Latin. Labels are currently flourishing on products: in addition to traditional fair trade products, there is "GMO-free" or "pesticide-free".
Carrefour, Galliance (Coopérative Terrena) and U stores have joined the Animal Wellbeing Label Association (AEBEA), created in 2018 by animal welfare associations and the Casino group, to offer a benchmark and unique labeling on the animal wellbeing.
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