Registry of organic producers in Russia expanded to 159 companies - sectoral union

MOSCOW. Jan 17 (Interfax) - The registry of producers of organic products in Russia, which is maintained by the Agriculture Ministry, currently incorporates 159 companies, a statement from the National Organic Union, citing its head Nadezhda Stepkina, said.

In late October last year, there were 136 of them in the registry.

"The total market value of organic products in Russia is 27.6 billion rubles. With this in mind, it is very important to closely monitor compliance with the legal requirements for organic production, retail operation and undergoing certification," she said. The All-Russian State Center for Quality and Standardization of Medicine for Animals and Fodder, a federal budgetary institution, has made an educational video for companies that want to operate on the organic market.

As reported to Interfax in the Union, in December 2022 and early January, producers primarily from Siberia (Tomsk region, Novosibirsk) were added to the registry. A steady growth of companies operating in the organic sector was demonstrated in the Voronezh region.

"Among the newcomers are also companies from Primorye, Ivanovo, Tambov and Oryol regions, and Tatarstan. Most of the manufacturers are new companies, but there are also those who have expanded their range of products and developed completely new areas," the union said. For example, Arivera Group was previously engaged mainly in grain crops, but now the company has obtained a certificate for growing organic strawberry, honeysuckle, currant, raspberry, and ginseng root. Organic Around LLC (Stavropol Territory) has expanded its range with plum and mashed berries, with the production of organic marshmallows planned for the near future. Agrivolga LLC (Yaroslavl region) began to produce organic goat's milk and goat cheese.

The union also said that producers of organic grapes began to appear in the southern regions. "If before we had a large number of producers of strong organic alcohol, mainly vodka, the emergence of organic grapes gives hope for the development of a market for domestic organic wine," the union said.

An increase in the number of certification organizations also contributes to the higher number of manufacturers of organic products. At the end of last year, the specialists of the Test-Tatarstan certification center started actively working in this area, the union said.