hong kong organic certification 2012

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Organic Food Labelling – Situation

in Hong Kong?

Prof. Wong W.C. Jonathan MHDirector, Hong Kong Organic Resource CentreHong Kong Baptist UniversityAmCham Luncheon Sept 2012

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Presentation Outline

• Hong Kong organic market situation

• Consumers’ buying behavior &

confidence level in organic products

• Means to minimize consumer’ confusion

on organic products

• Need of organic food regulation

• HKORC-Cert’s role in building trust on

“Organic”

WORLD MARKET SITUATION

3

Global Market Growth Rates

17.9

25.5

40.2

59.1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2000 2003 2006 2010

Rev

en

ues

(U

S$

bil

lio

n)

Reference: NutraCon 2012, presented by Amarjit Sahota

Global Market

• Market Size (2010) US $59.1 billion

• Market Growth 8% (YOY)

228% (2000)

• Leading Regions Europe

North America

• Leading Markets USA, Germany

France, UK

Reference: NutraCon 2012, presented by Amarjit Sahota

6

Organic Farming is growing

0

18 22

4558

69

8698

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Mar-2005 Mar-2006 Mar-2007 Mar-2008 Mar-2009 Mar-2010 Mar-2011 Mar-2012

No. of Certified Organic Farms in HK

(67.9ha)

Hong Kong Local

Produce Production (2012 July)

• Total No. of farms:

– 2,500 (734 ha)

• No. of Organic Farms:

– 409 (24% of total farms)

• No. of Certified Organic Farms:

– 100

• Farmland in the urban fringes

• Local organic veggie

production:

– 4.5 tonnes per day

(0.25% of local veggie

consumption)

(source: AFCD)

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Organic Processing & Retailing sector

is growing

Increased Organic Food Supply

Gradual increase of operations involving in the handling, processing

or selling of organic products.

Over 300

Retail Outlets!

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Demand for Organic Products

(HKORC Consumer Survey 2011 <Valid samples：616 >)

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Categories of Organic Products


Frequency of Organic Purchase

11(HKORC Consumer Survey 2011 <Valid samples：365 >)

Reasons for Choosing Organic

Meeting organic buyers’ needs

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Reasons for choosing Organic

Sample Size：365

HKORC Consumer Survey, 2011

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Channels of Organic Products

Sales in Hong Kong


The Average Monthly Expenses on

Organic Products

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In the past year, the % of organic buyers who spent over HKD500 on

organic products increased from 9% to 16.2%. In the coming year, those

who are willing to spend over HKD500 will be increased to 20.8%.


Supermarkets, superstores &

health food stores - Veggies

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(HK Labelling Survey – Organic Veggies 2011 <Valid samples：724 >)

Supermarkets, superstores &

health food stores – Rice/Pasta

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• The labelling of rice/pasta products also has confusing claims.

(HK Labelling Survey – Organic Veggies 2011 <Valid samples：724 >)

Foreign organic label we see on

imported products everyday

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http://www.qai-inc.com/0_0_0_0.php

http://www.australianorganic.com.au/

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Year

Wet Market Situation

(HKORC HK Wet Market Survey )

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Certified vs Self-claimed Organic in

Wet Markets 2012

76%

Selling certified

organic veggies

Who/What should consumers trust?

Selling self-claimed

organic veggies

7.0%

20.6%

72.4%Selling certified organic veggies

Overall situation –

% of market vendors

Certified organic vs self-claimed organic -

% of market vendors selling “organic”

vegetables

(HKORC HK Wet Market Survey 2012)

• However, the % of self-claimed organic veggies (i.e. over 70%) was still high in

2012, similar to the results last year.

<samples: 340> <samples: 93>

20Can we trust what we see?

FRAUD

Case!!!

28 Jun 2011

Local Vendor

selling fake

Organic CropsSource: HKSAR Customs and Excise Department

Low Confidence Level on Products

could Frighten Consumers Away

21 (HKORC Consumer Survey 2011 <Valid samples：251 >)

Let’s look at the experience

of the overseas.

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How to tackle this confidence

issue?

Means to Guarantee Organic

• Third Party Certification

• Participatory Guarantee Systems

• CSA, Tei Kei, farmers markets,

traditional systems etc

Reference: NutraCon 2012, presented by Andre Leu

Third Party Certification

Third party certification systems involve

producers being certified to a standard or

several standards by a recognised

certification body that checks that the

producer is complying with the

standard/standards.


Third Party Certification

• 75+ countries with organic regulations of

some type• Some standards only

• Some, standards plus control of certification

• Some regulate export but not domestic

• Private organic standards and labeling

• 400+ organic certification bodies

worldwide, but little to no access to

certification in some countries.


Other Guarantee:

Participatory Guarantee Systems

• Locally focused quality assurance

systems for local markets.

• Develop an internal control system to

ensure that all the farmers in the group

are adhering to accepted organic

practices.

• Normally involves a standard

• A transparent peer review system to

ensure that all the members are following

the correct procedures.

Other Guarantee:

Non Certified Systems

• Farmer and consumer based cooperative marketing

systems.

• Well known examples are the Tei Kei system in

Japan and Consumer Subscription Agriculture (CSA)

in Europe and North America.

• These systems work on a direct partnership between

the consumers and the farmers.

• The integrity is built on the transparency and strength

of the relationship between the two groups.

Organic market regulation in Asia

India

Japan

Malaysia

China

South Korea

Taiwan

Philippines

Hong Kong

Singapore

Indonesia

Certification by CB approved

by CNCA

Certification by CB approved by NAB

[pending notification of rules]

Certification by CB approved

by MAFF Japan

Certification recognised by NAB

Certification recognised by NAB or

Canada

Certification recognised by NAB

Certification recognised by Dept

of Agriculture

No additional regulatory requirement

NAB – National Accreditation Body

Reference: NutraCon 2012, presented by Ong Kong Wai

Example – China

• CB should be approved by CNCA and

accredited by CNAS

• Inspectors should be registered at CCAA

• Only certified products can be labeled as

organic

• National organic label

• No national organic agriculture standard;

• Food products labelled as organic foods,

organically produced or words of similar

meanings: CODEX

• All import of organic processed food are

required to accompany with organic

certification from the relevant certification

bodies of the country of origin

Example – Singapore

Hong Kong –

NO legal legislation on Organic”

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31

？

？？

32The Need of Legal Legislation on

“Organic”?

• Recent Concerns raised by Consumer

Council

– “Consumer Council supports calls to introduce

specific regulation governing the production,

certification and labeling of organic foods in Hong

Kong.”

• HKSAR Gov (Food and Health Bureau )

– FHB has commissioned a consultant to study the

need of Legal Legislation on “Organic”.

Organic Food Regulation –

possible implications

• Clear labelling that help consumers identify the

genuine organic products and enhance their

confidence on organic products

• Regulate the organic market

• The increase burden of organic regulations restricts

market access

• Costs on production increase for small producers

– FHB has been funding the Hong Kong Organic Resource

Centre for 8 years that promotes voluntary Organic

Certification scheme and educates the public on Organic

consumption. The Government believes these approaches are

currently sufficient to meet the needs.

HKORC’S ROLE IN BUILDING

TRUST ON ORGANIC

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Promote Organic Certification

Next Step to Build Confidence

Applying for International Accreditation:

IFOAM Accreditation & ISO65

Build Trust towards HKORC Cert among public

& the operators

Build a credible organic certification

system:

Independent Organization Structure

Standard formulated with reference developed

according to principles of IFOAM

Policy Manual formulated with reference to

ISO65

Consultation process

35

Develop Unilateral Product

Acceptance ServiceHKORC Organic Seals: Known by HK public

36

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(HKORC Consumer Survey 2011 <Valid samples：616 >

HKORC Consumer Survey 2009Jan <Valid samples: 501>)

* The data for JAS label in 2009 is NA.

Develop Unilateral Product

Acceptance Service

Raise the no. of organic imports with HKORC

Cert seal

Increase HKORC seal exposure and increase

consumers’ confidence

37

38

Surveillance /

Market Surveys

• Surveys with focus on

– Consumer Attitude & behavior

– Labeling Situation of Retails

– Labeling Situation of Wet

Market Stalls

39

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Education & Publicity through

Press helps build the awareness

& confidence

40

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Territory-wide Educational Program like Organic Day

Educational programs to schools & organizations

Promotion and education

Our Ultimate Goal

Build up confidence among

consumers towards

organic products and

catch up with foreign organic

market

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THANK YOU.Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre

Address：Hong Kong Baptist University

Tel：3411-2384

Fax：3411-2373

Email：[email protected]

Website：http:// www.hkorc.org