WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/CTE/W/202
8 October 2001
(01-4866)
Committee on Trade and Environment Original:  Spanish
ORGANIC FARMING
Item 6 of the Work Programme
Position of Costa Rica
I. INTRODUCTION
1. Organic farming has provided significant economic, social and commercial opportunities for
Costa Rica, together with numerous benefits for the environment and for consumers.
2. Over the last 15 years, small-scale producers in Costa Rica have been making the transition to
organic agriculture, mainly on their own initiative.  The main reasons behind producers' conversion to
organic farming have been the economic problems caused by the high cost of synthetic agro-
chemicals and their loss of effectiveness;  health aspects;  the search for alternative markets to cope
with the globalization process;  and concerns  relating to the environment and biodiversity.
II. CURRENT SITUATION
3. Costa Rica today has more than 4,000 organic producers, most of them grouped together in
135 organizations.  At the same time, more than 9,400 hectares are devoted to organic production,
representing almost 2 per cent of the total area used for permanent crops and arable land.
4. Most organic farming in Costa Rica is based on a vertically integrated system whereby
producers organize themselves by product and region.  Some provinces have local projects involving
small-scale producers, including indigenous communities.
5. Costa Rica currently produces a wide range of organic products, such as bananas, coffee,
sugar cane, mangoes, pineapples, plantains, oranges, mulberries and cocoa.  Many of these products
have been exported to different countries during the last ten years, mainly to the European Union and
the United States.  By way of example of the quantities of organic exports, in 1998 Costa Rica
exported 84,968 tons of bananas, 12,000 tons of coffee and 15,692 tons of sugar cane.
6. Many domestic companies have been successful in developing organic farming, for both the
domestic market and export markets.  Much of this success is due to the participation of domestic
producers in various international trade fairs concerned with organic products.  One such is the
Biofach Fair, held annually in Germany, which is considered the most important worldwide event for
organic products.  Costa Rica's Foreign Tr ade Promotion Agency (PROCOMER) has been
participating in this fair for more than four years, promoting participation by national producers ofvarious organic products.
7. In addition, for some time now various localities in the country have hosted local fairs where
organic producers sell their produce directly to consumers, thereby establishing a relationship of trust
between producer and consumer.WT/CTE/W/202
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III. LEGAL BASIS
8. Costa Rica has developed national legislation and standards in the field of organic farming
and possesses a highly organized system of insp ection and certification.  Right now, Costa Rica hopes
to be included in the near future in the list of third countries under European Union Regulation
2092/91, and this could help substantially to increase exports of Costa Rican organic products to theEuropean Union.
9. The most relevant basic legal texts on organic farming currently in force in Costa Rica
include the Institutional Law on the Environment, Law No. 7554 of 13 November 1995, the Law on
Phytosanitary Protection, Law No. 7664 of 2 May 1997 and, more specifically, the Regulation on
Organic Farming recently amended by Executive Decree No. 29782-MAG of 21 August 2001.  The
Regulation deals with the production, elaboration and marketing of organic agricultural products in
Costa Rica, and to that end lays down rules governing the different stages in the production andcertification processes for such products.
IV. INSPECTION, CERTIFICATION AND PROMOTION
10. With regard to the system of inspection and certification, Costa Rica has three certification
agencies which have been accredited by the national authorities.  Two of them (ECO-LOGICA and
AIMPCOPOP) are national agencies, while the th ird (BCS-OKO Garantie) is based in Germany.
11. Among the governmental institutions responsible for supporting and promoting organic
farming in Costa Rica, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), through the Directorate of
Phytosanitary Protection Services (DSPF), supervises and monitors compliance with the rules and
procedures established for the sector.
12. Three bodies have been set up within the MAG to monitor and promote organic farming,
namely:
- The State Phytosanitary Service;
- the National Organic Farming Commission;  and
- the National Organic Farming Programme.
13. The State Phytosanitary Service is supervised by the DSPF which in turn is the entity
responsible for registering and monitoring the organic certification agencies and has the authority to
approve certifications issued by those agencies.
14. The National Organic Farming Commission was established as an advisory body to the MAG
under the Institutional Law on the Environment and is expected to be officially constituted in the nearfuture.
15. The third body referred to above, the National Organic Farming Programme (PNAO), was
established in 1995.  The PNAO is also attached to  the MAG;  it provides institutional support for
organic farming and coordinates the efforts of public and private organizations which promote and
support organic production.
16. In addition to these bodies, and as was mentioned earlier, the Foreign Trade Promotion
Agency of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) has in recent years been developing a programme of support for
organic farming, which provides information and tr aining for producers with a view to promoting
national organic products on international markets.WT/CTE/W/202
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17. One of the most important tasks undertaken recently by PROCOMER (in cooperation with
the MAG) in the field of organic farming is a programme to promote a national stamp for organic
products.  In addition, PROCOMER has devised a strategy to support the use of this stamp, which
includes the use of promotional material at intern ational fairs, the preparation of an information
catalogue and the publication and dissemination of information on various Internet pages, inmagazines, etc.
V. FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
18. Despite Costa Rica's progress in developing organic production in recent years, there remain
certain problems, including the reduced size of production units, the dispersion of production, the high
cost of certification, the lack of information on administrative strategies and market opportunities, and
the lack of adequate support in the areas of research, technology transfer and financial resources.
19. Considerable efforts have been deployed at national level to respond to these problems.
NGOs, universities and a number of cooperation agencies were the main sources of support for the
early development of organic farming in Costa Rica and will continue to support its further
development.  The State agricultural sector, for its part, has been increasing its involvement in this
process in recent years, mainly through the National Production Council (CNP) and the Ministry of
Agriculture and Livestock.
20. One of the most concrete activities being undertaken in this connection concerns an
agreement signed recently between the MAG and the Costa Rican Initiative for International
Competitiveness (ICCI-2) with the aim of improving the marketing of organic products at national
and international level.  Under this agreement,  the PNAO, the Educational Corporation for Costa
Rican Development (CEDECO), the National Peas ant Farmers Committee and the Indigenous and
Peasant Farmers Community Forestry Coordinating Agency (CICAFOC), with the support of the
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agri culture (IICA) and the ICCI-2 project of the
Canadian International Development Agency (CI DA), launched a process some months ago which is
aimed at devising a strategy to promote trade and develop the market for organic products in Costa
Rica.  This process involves Costa Rican organic producers and organizations of producers, NGOs,and public and private agencies and institutions directly and indirectly involved in this activity.
21. The project is already in its final stage, during which consultants made available by the
ICCI-2 project are in the process of drawing up a proposal that will serve as a basis for specific
initiatives and lines of action to promote trade and develop the national market for organic products.
22. Moreover, Costa Rica has been taking an active part in an UNCTAD project largely
concerned with the marketing of organic products in developing countries. This project, entitled
"Strengthening Research and Policy-Making on Trade and Environment in Developing Countries",which is sponsored by the Department for International Development (DFID), was launched in
June 1999 and includes among its components the topic of commercial opportunities for the organic
products of developing countries.
23. The project involves ten developing countries – including Costa Rica – and has brought
together official representatives of those countries to exchange national experiences and discussvarious key aspects, on the basis of position papers prepared by the participating developing
countries, consultants and members of UNCTAD and the Foundation for International Environmental
Law and Development (FIELD).
24. As a result of the technical cooperation provided by UNCTAD on this topic, a national
workshop was held on Monday, 20 August in San José, with more than 40 participants from differentorganizations, who exchanged points of view on the main problems and priorities for the futureWT/CTE/W/202
Page 4
support of organic production and marketing in developing countries.  This was a highly successful
and positive event, in terms of developing the t opic, for both the participants and the competent
Government entities.
25. As a result of this technical cooperation, UNCTAD has issued a set of recommendations and
conclusions on the subject, which could be the focus of subsequent research and dialogue on policieswith specific objectives, including the following in particular:
• Providing assistance to developing countries in the design and implementation of
adequate government support for organic production;
• exploring mechanisms for the authorization of guarantee systems in the developing
countries;
• examining various market strategies.
26. The Government recognizes that Costa Rica has much potential in the area of organic farming
and will continue to provide all necessary support to organic producers and the development of
organic farming in general, not only locally but for the promotion of export markets.
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