The US and the Republic of Korea formed a partnership that will recognize the two countries' organic programs as equivalent for processed organic products and streamline access to each other's markets.
According to US industry estimates, the United States exported approximately $35 million of processed organic products to Korea in 2013.
"Opening the Korean organic market to American producers will benefit the thriving organic sector and create opportunities across the organic supply chain and in rural communities," said Anne Alonzo, Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator.
The National Organic Program, part of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, has helped farmers and businesses create an industry that today encompasses over 18,000 organic businesses in the United States and accounts for $35 billion annually in US retail sales.
Representatives from the U.S. organic industry—including trade associations and organic producers—praised the U.S.-Korea partnership.
"We welcome the reopening of the important Korean market to the US organic sector. Korean consumers, like consumers in the United States, are eagerly buying more organic products as they become more informed about the benefits of organic. This new arrangement will spark additional market growth of at least $35 million annually, and is mutually beneficial to small and medium sized organic businesses both in the United States and Korea," said Laura Batcha, Executive Director and CEO of the Organic Trade Association.
