On 29 May 2018, a press conference took place in the Russian Federation, dedicated to the 5-year anniversary of the National Organic Union. Participants discussed the latest developments of organic products in Russia and expressed their expectations of the draft Federal Law on “Organic Products, Production and Marketing”. However, some problematic issues were raised as well. The Organic Union on 23 and 24 June will hold another
conference on organic agriculture in Suzdal.
Organic production and certification
In just ten years (2005-2015), the area of organic agricultural land in Russia has increased from 6,900 to 385,140 hectares, which amounts to 0.2% of the total agricultural land in the country. But not all certified organic land is under cultivation, which is partly due to the fact that certification takes about three years and farmers do not start using the land until they can produce and sell certified organic products.According to agroberichtenbuitenland.nl, most organic farms in Russia are small and medium of size (50-1,500 hectares), while the biggest share of the organic production is done by large holding companies such as Agrivolga, Arivera and Savinskaya Niva. More than 60 Russian organic producers have international organic certificates from the European Union and of the National Organic Program of the US.