ORGANIC MARKETING FORUM 2009 

International European Meeting on Processing and Trade of Organic Food, Non Food and Organic Raw Materials in Warsaw

“The importance of Central- and Eastern Europe in terms of demand for organic food as well as export possibilities for organic raw materials and high quality food products, is still growing”. This is one of the main conclusions at the 4^th Organic Marketing Forum in Warsaw. The international conference for producers and traders of organic food and raw material took place at the 25^th and 26^th of May 2009 in the Polish capital. With about 380 participants out of 30 countries the number rises about 20% compared to 2008. For the first time about 10% of the participants came from Russian speaking countries, in which a large number of initiatives for building regional organic markets is growing at the moment. Also in the host country Poland the rise in organic agriculture continues: An increase of more than 50% in organic cultivated area and 40% in numbers of enterprises for processing in 2008 are impressive developments that also show significant growth of the organic market. “The risen number of participants and the great atmosphere at the Forum indicate a continuous rise of the positiv development of organic agriculture in the new EU Member States and in Eastern Europe” says Bernhard Jansen, chairman of the organiser EkoConnect – International Centre for Organic Agriculture of Central and Eastern Europe e.V. “Futhermore there is a continues interest in reliable partnerships in the raw material sector of Eastern as well as Western Europe”. That appeared in Warsaw in a high demand for workshops for raw materials and in buyers and sellers who were quite satisfied with the meeting. 

For participants also the conference presentations about the changing markets and expectations of the consumer reported by Volkert Engelsmann (Eosta) as well as the developments in Russia, Rumania an Croatia were of special interest. In total 20 presentations and reports were given by experts and entrepreneurs as well as 4 thematic workshops about special organic markets. 

Moreover 60 companies presented their products in an accompanying exhibition, whereas the participants recognised an increase of quality in the exhibition. The winner in the “Best of Organic” – contest has been the Polish company Janton S.A. with its wine “Aronica”. The second  price went to the German Naturata AG and the third to the Polish Cheese manufacturer Frackowiak SP.J.

A further highlight of the event has been the “Warsaw declaration for a moratorium in the use of GMO” , which was adopted by the forum participants in presence and with support of the Polish Vice-Minister for Agriculture Artur Lawniczak. With the declaration the participants claim from the government and enterprises in Europe to comply a moratorium for the admission and use of GMO in agriculture and to respect the consumers rejection of genetic manipulation in food production.