CONSUMERS and growers alike have the opportunity to help guide the organic industry regulatory framework with public consultation now open.
All stakeholders including farmers, transporters, exporters, retailers, consumers and industry bodies have been invited to have their say on a new organics regulation impact statement.
The public consultation will close on Thursday, March 17, at 5pm.
Australia has the largest organic agricultural area in the world (35.7 million hectares). It is also the last developed nation in the world without a mandatory domestic standard for the term "organic" on product labelling.
First assistant secretary of agricultural policy at the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment Joanna Stanion said the department is seeking stakeholder views on regulatory and non-regulatory options to improve Australia's domestic organic regulatory framework.
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"This is a growing part of the agriculture sector and we are keen to seek a wide range of views," Ms Stanton said.
"The department's consultations to date have included an online business survey with over 100 responses, a targeted phone survey of producers and processors with over 500 respondents, an online consumer survey with over 1000 responses, and a range of industry roundtables and one-on-one meetings."
Australian Organic Limited (AOL) chief executive officer Niki Ford said the Australian Organic Market Report 2021 showed one-third of shoppers who had purchased an organic product in the past year believed they had previously been misled by organic claims on product packaging.
"This is an alarming rate. Consumers deserve to know when they are making a purchase that it is authentically organic," Ms Ford said.
"Our certified operators work extremely hard to bring certified organic products to markets, while non-certified operators claiming to be organic may use chemicals or practices that are not allowed under organic standards.
"Knowing that consumers will pay a premium price for organic branded goods, uncertified operators charge more for their products and undermine the credibility of the operators who are doing the right thing."
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