The Argentine Foreign Ministry, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, carried out successful efforts to achieve the export of Argentine organic products to Italy under normal conditions.
Under the coordination of Foreign Minister Felipe Solá and through efforts led by the Argentine Ambassador to Italy, Roberto Carlés, a regulation that prevented the import of Argentine organic products to Italy was repealed. The rule regarded the products of Argentina, among other countries, as a risk factor to the Italian organic market.
Argentina had questioned the Italian regulation because it considered that it severely affected our bilateral economic and trade relations, and it was not in line with the regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The rule was also incompatible with European Union regulations, while also ignoring the recognition of EU-level equivalence for Argentine organic production. As a result of the Argentine efforts, the rule was repealed and replaced by an Order of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies that deals with organic product imports, published in the Italian Official Gazette on 24 May 2021.
Argentina’s regulatory framework and control system was recognized by the EU decades ago. The recognition of Argentine organic production dates back to 1992, when Argentina was included in the provisional list of third countries, initially for products of vegetable origin. In 2000, both processed and non-processed products of animal origin were added to the products of vegetable origin. Ever since, the regulations updating the validity of the equivalence of Argentina have been renewed.
The European Union is one of the two largest destinations for our products: in 2020, the EU received 46% of Argentina’s total exports, approximately 60,501 tonnes, 2,483 of which were destined to Italy.
