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Oceania
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16/05/09 |
New Zealand: Fonterra Expects Organic Dairy sales to Treble |
Fonterra is targeting Waikato farmers in a
campaign to treble its organic milk supply. Its
Milk Supply marketing manager, Gillian Munnik, said international
supermarkets could not get enough organic dairy products.
"We're seeing huge growth in global demand for organic dairy, with the
category now valued at over USD
5 billion and representing about 3% of
all dairy products consumed worldwide," she said.
Fonterra's organic cheese and butter products, sold under the Mainland
and own label brands, were launched into 1300 supermarkets
internationally in December.
Forecasts are already pointing to a trebling in demand in less than a
year, with around 4000 supermarkets wanting to sell the products by the
end of 2009.
Raglan dairy farmers Mike Moss and Madeline Rix-Trott were certified
organic nine years ago. They had visited
another organic farm which encouraged them to do the same.
"The farmers were happy, the farms looked great and had good production
levels. We were interested and so we converted," Mr Moss said. The
couple earn an extra $1.05 per kg of milk solids on top of the standard
payout.
"Often there is the perception that to be organic suppliers you need to
have a hippy lifestyle or paint rainbows on your mailbox."
"Fortunately that perception is changing rapidly," he said. "For us,
going organic has changed our lives - it has put the fun back into
farming."
Their 65-hectare operation, Koraha Farms, has 140 cows producing an
average of around 48,000kg of milk solids.
Fonterra supports farmers with a 45 cent per kg of milk solids incentive
payment as they switch.
"More farmers should take advantage of Fonterra's organics programme.
"The money is good and you are looking after the environment," Mr Moss
said.
Fonterra has 79 contracted organic suppliers, a small fraction of its
11,000 supplier base, 45 of which have full organic certification.
The other suppliers are in their three-year conversion phase.
Previous Article:
Global Organic Milk Undersupply
Easing
Source: The Dominion
Post
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14/05/09 |
Australia: Fairtrade Product Sales Surge |
Sales of Fairtrade labelled goods have increased by 80 percent in
Australia.
Items that have been ethically produced in developing countries and
labelled as Fairtrade have been sold in Australia for the past five
years.
Cameron Neil, from Fairtrade Labelling Australia New Zealand, says
chocolate, coffee and tea are increasing in popularity but cotton and
rice sales are also growing.
"Really, I think globally we're talking about quadrupling our market
share over the next three, four, five years and that's driven purely by
the needs of producers."
Sustainable Foods Summit
Some of the leading fair trade organisations in Europe will be
participating in the
upcoming Sustainable Foods Summit, held in Amsterdam, June 25-27.
The summit will look at the impact of fairtrade practices on
sustainability, using case studies from successful companies that
include AgroFair, Canaan Fairtrade, Earthoil, etc. More details are on
www.sustainablefoodssummit.com
Source: ABC Rural News
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22/04/09 |
Australia: Authorities Take Action Over Organic
Labelling |
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken action
against cosmetics maker Natural Products of Australia over its natural
and organic claims.
The action will be stressed by corrective notices being published in
national magazines and newspapers during the course of this month
highlighting the importance of correct naturals and organic labelling.
The ACCC said it took the action against Natural Products of Australia
because it was concerned that inaccuracies on its product labels
concerning the products’ composition might mislead consumers.
On its labels the company claims to use '100 per cent pure oils and
certified organic herbs’, but the ACCC was concerned that the amounts of
these herbs and oils was sometimes so small it was relatively
insignificant to the overall formulation.
In the same vein, the organisation also rapped Natural Products of
Australia for not listing its ingredients on the labels from biggest to
smallest quantities, as required by mandatory standards.
“Consumers should be able to rely on labels to provide accurate
information about the chemicals and other ingredients in cosmetic
products,“ said ACCC deputy chairman Peter Kell.
Industry has applauded the decision by the Australian authorities,
calling it a victory for those manufacturers that produce cosmetic
products according to perceived standards set out for natural and
organic products.
“Finally our government is doing something about organic claims,” said
Greg Milham, CEO of Cawarra Cosmetics, an Australian company that
produces organic certified products.
The ACCC said it had taken the move to highlight the mislabelling of
natural and organic products after a string of complaints in relation to
the matter.
Likewise, the organisation also points out that it is an important step
as a means of protecting those with allergies to harsh chemicals as well
as consumers who want to buy products that are more environmentally
friendly.
The problems in Australia reflect those of organic and natural personal
care producers worldwide.
A recent study by Organic Monitor illustrated that although the number
of organic and natural-certified products being launched is set to rise
worldwide, the problem of competing standards and general confusion
still remains.
Harmonisation was the goal when five major European certification bodies
developed the Cosmos standard recently and measures are being taken
towards setting up a similar body in the US.
Although the Organic Monitor report highlights the fact that this
measure may have a unifying effect for the industry, the continued
fragmentation of the worldwide organic and naturals category means that
such moves are unlikely to have the far-reaching effects intended in the
short-term.
Natural Cosmetics Masterclass
A plethora of natural & organic cosmetic
standards have been introduced
over the last 18 months. Cosmetic manufacturers, formulators and
ingredient companies are questioning the differences between these
standards and their practical implications. Upcoming
Masterclasses by Organic Monitor navigate companies through the
maze of natural & organic cosmetic standards, looking specifically at
the technical, formulation and ingredient issues involved.
Event:
Natural
Cosmetics Masterclass (London),
July 8 2009
Source:
Cosmetics Design / Organic Monitor
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