The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced that the organic producers in the country will have increased opportunities to export their products, while people in the country will have more organic food choices to purchase, following an agreement inked by Canada and Costa Rica.
Costa Rica and the Canadian government have entered into an agreement on the trade of organic products, on 28 March 2013.
In accordance with the national legislation of Costa Rica, the National Phytosanitary Service has determined that the Canadian organic agricultural products, which are produced and certified in Canada, meet Organic Products Regulations, 2009 and are certified by the CFIA accredited Certification Body under the Canada Organic Regime; are considered to have been produced and certified in accordance to Costa Rica's national law governing the organic agriculture regime.
The organic products exported to Costa Rica under the above mentioned recognition may bear the Canada Organic Logo and/or Costa Rica's organic seal.
As per the agreed terms, organic products must be accompanied by an organic certificate issued by CFIA accredited Certification Body. All organic products imports to Costa Rica should meet Costa Rica's food safety and labelling requirements.
Canada Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said that the agreement with Costa Rica is expected to remove trade barriers in order to strengthen the position of Canadian organic producers in the organic market of Costa Rica.
"Canadian consumers will also benefit by having increased access to organic food options," added Ritz.
