Eleven Ukrainian companies have showcased food typically grown and produced in their country at a major organic fair thanks to support from UNEP and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL).

Organic cereals, oil crops, pulses, sunflower seeds and oil, as well as wild and cultivated berries and berry paste were among produce on display at the Biofach fair in Nuremberg, Germany from 10 - 13 February.

It was the second time that UNEP and FiBL joined forces to sponsor the Ukrainian Pavilion at the fair, which is the biggest of its kind worldwide, featuring more than 2,500 exhibitors from almost 90 countries.

The Pavilion was a crucial platform not only for producers to better understand market tendencies and harness business opportunities, but also to present Ukraine as an important producer of organic raw material and a legitimate business partner regarding high quality processed products.

“The fair exceeded our expectations,” said Gleb Lukyanenko, general manager of Agroecology PE - one of the Ukrainian firms represented at the Pavilion. “Visiting the fair is crucial to understand the real demand for organic produce,” he underlined.

According to data from the Organic Federation of Ukraine, the area of organically certified land in the county is steadily increasing. Around 400,000 hectares of agricultural land is currently cultivated with organic practices, translating into almost 200 organic producers. Organic farming is also one of the priority areas within the Single and Comprehensive Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development in Ukraine for 2015-2020 issued by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.

Besides the contribution of the 11 exhibiting companies, the Ukrainian Pavilion was supported by the Swiss-Ukrainian project titled ‘Organic Market Development in Ukraine’. The project is implemented by FiBL and funded by the Swiss Confederation through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the organic component of ‘Greening Economies in the Eastern Neighbourhood’ (EaP-Green) funded by the European Commission and carried out by UNEP.

Under EaP-Green’s organic component, UNEP provides support to countries to enhance their knowledge of domestic and international market opportunities and barriers, and builds capacities for the production and trade of organic products.

For more information on EaP-Green’s organic component please click here or read more about the project by clicking here. For further details please write to claudia.assmann@unep.org