Report Feasibility study organic bitter tea Cao Bang - Helvetas

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storing organic product must be clean or new. Synthetic fertilizer bags are not allowed. 18. Materials used in or produce from organic production must not be stored in the same area as materials/produce from conventional production 19. Spraying of prohibited pesticides in storage is prohibited. transport itself is mostly by bus and farmer has no control over what is happening during transportation. Not an issue at the moment. - 15 - Feasibility Study Organic Bitter Tea in Cao Bang: 2007 site makes it possible for producers to deliver themselves so that the process can be controlled. Set up separate processing unit for organic tea or create separate storage areas for organic and nonorganic when only one processing unit used for both.
Feasibility Study Organic Bitter Tea in Cao Bang: 2007 5. ORGANIC PRODUCTION AND MARKETING REQUIREMENTS One of the observations of the survey was that the BTC has a limited understanding of the requirements and standards related to food safety in overseas markets, including organic production. The reason for this survey was an apparent interest from a Korean buyer in organic bitter tea. However, during our interview with the BTC management it became clear that this was merely an interest in "clean" production, not in organic. This confusion was caused because the BTC management was of the impression that "clean" production (which is production with limited use of chemicals) was similar to organic production. Therefore, before going into more detail on the requirements for organic production, some more general information will be given on international for food safety regulations; 5.1. What regulations to follow when exporting? When exporting agricultural products, either as raw material or processed, to another country the exporter has to be aware of two main areas where the importing country will have regulations for the exporter to follow. The first are food safety regulations and the second requirements on product traceability (FAO, 2007). For the main markets, European Union, Japan and Korea, which are considered for this report these regulations are compulsory and have to be followed by exporters or producers who want to sell their products into these markets. These are the basic regulations to follow for any product to be exported. On top of these compulsory standards, additional requirements will apply when the exporter wants to sell the product under a specific label required in the importing country, such as organic or "low pesticide". These standards are usually called voluntary standards since they only need to be followed in case an exporter wants to sell under that specific label (FAO, 2007). Voluntary standards are normally specific for a country. For example, Korea has a label for "low pesticide" products but a similar label does not exist in the EU nor are there any international "low pesticide" standards. Also, there is no system for recognition between "low pesticide" standards of different countries that have such standards, for example between Vietnam's "safe" vegetables standards and the Korean "low pesticides" standards. On the other hand, Korea, Japan and the EU have standards for organic products but these are not the same for the three countries. However, there exist some system for mutual recognition of organic certificates between the different countries. 5.1.1. Food Safety Regulations Producers need to ensure the quality and safety of their produce and avoid all potential hazards such as risks from contaminated water or from other microbial or chemical contaminants. Regulations on the maximum residue limits (MRLs) of pesticides an herbicides are effective both at national and international levels. Producers and exporters must comply with both the regulations of their own country (in this case Vietnam) and the regulations of importing countries. They may only use chemicals that are registered for use on a particular crop and must strictly follow the directions indicated in the instructions leaflet or on their containers (boxes and bottles) (FAO, 2007). In the European Union, there are now common limits for many pesticides that apply to the entire European Union. However, for some pesticides the residue limits vary from country to country. Each country verifies that regulations are met (usually through the Ministry of Agriculture) at its point of entry. When European Union countries have not set up - 16 -
Page 1: Helvetas Vietnam Swiss Association
Page 4 and 5: Feasibility Study Organic Bitter Te
Page 6 and 7: SUMMARY Feasibility Study Organic B
Page 8 and 9: 1. INTRODUCTION Feasibility Study O
Page 30 and 31: 7.4. Conclusions Feasibility Study
Page 32: ANNEX 1 - LIST OF PEOPLE INTERVIEWE

Report Feasibility study organic bitter tea Cao Bang - Helvetas

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