2008 Press Releases
Orgainc Trade Association receives $750,000 grant
News Release
Contact: Barbara Haumann
413-774-7511, Ext. 20
For Immediate Release
Foreign Ag Service awards Organic Trade Association $750,000
Monies will be used to analyze trade barriers to U.S. organic products
GREENFIELD, Mass. (Oct. 14, 2008)--The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has approved $750,000 in Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) funding over three years to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), in partnership with Sustainable Strategies, for projects that analyze technical trade barriers for U.S. organic products.
"OTA envisions that this funding will go a long way towards understanding the hurdles that impede the trade of organic products and finding solutions to opening trade options for U.S. organic producers," said David Gagnon, OTA's Chief Operating Officer and OTA leader on U.S. organic export projects.
With the funding, OTA member Sustainable Strategies: Advisors in Food and Agriculture, based in Boalsburg, PA, will conduct various comparative GAP analyses and overviews of international markets for U.S. organic products. Comparative GAP analyses are detailed, side-by-side comparisons of the U.S. national organic standards and those of designated countries. Each analysis identifies the barriers to exporting U.S. organic products to specific international specialty markets.
Sustainable Strategies, which with Wolf, DiMatteo + Associates developed a GAP analytical model for detailed comparisons of the U.S. National Organic Program (NOP) with organic standards of other countries, has previously partnered with OTA on similar projects, most recently a GAP analysis of NOP and the Canada Organic Standards. Robert Anderson, president of Sustainable Strategies, serves as Senior Strategic Analyst and Project Manager for International Trade Policy for the projects.
In their project proposal to FAS, OTA and Sustainable Strategies pointed out that U.S. organic producers are at an unfair trade disadvantage because various foreign nations, certifiers and their producers enjoy full access to the 50-state U.S. market while U.S. organic producers have no reciprocal access to their markets. As a result, U.S. companies often must negotiate with sovereign nations on an inherently uneven playing field.
"As organic production and trade expand around the world, requests from countries for recognition and equivalence of standards grow, as does the need to compare standards. OTA's previous work on side-by-side comparisons of organic standards and strategic analyses to support trade policy using TASC funds has provided vital information for USDA in negotiations with other countries and in determining when trade in organic products will be affected," according to Kelly Strzelecki, agricultural economist with the Processed Products and Technical Regulations Division within FAS.
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. Its 1,700 members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA's mission is to promote and protect the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy.
Headquarters: P.O. Box 547, Greenfield, MA 01302 USA (413) 774-7511 fax: (413) 774-6432 www.ota.com
Canada: P.O. Box 6364, Sackville, NB, Canada E4L 1G6 East (506) 260-7537 West (250) 335-3423
Ottawa, (613) 482-1717
Washington, D.C., Office: (202) 338-2900
