Bilateral Equivalence Discussion Between Two Asian Countries Has Started

Governments of The Philippines and Indonesia have begun talks aimed at bilateral equivalence of their organic regulatory systems.  The two countries held their first meeting in June wherein they agreed to use the GOMA Tools as the basis for their procedure and assessments of equivalence.  They also agreed that the scope of organic agriculture covered by the agreement will be crop production, wild collection (incuding honey), and processing. Animal husbandry was not included as development of the sector in both countries is only just emerging and trade in organic animal products is not expected in the immediate future.  The delegations expressed interest to complete the equivalence process in early 2012. These and other points will be included in letters of intent to be exchanged between the two countries to formalize the process.  After the letters are exchanged, the parties will conduct self-assessments of their standards and certification requirements according to the EquiTool and IROCB respectively. GOMA is providing technical assistance for the process, especially for using the Tools to conduct and discuss the assessments.