Organic farming

Import of organic products

The legal basis for the import of organic products is the most recent version of the Swiss Organic Farming Ordinance, in particular Articles 22 to 24a and 26.

The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) Ordinance on Organic Farming (abbrev. EAER Ordinance on Organic Farming) specifies in more detail the requirements of the Organic Farming Ordinance.

The EAER recognizes the production rules and inspection systems that exist in a number of countries as being equivalent to those operating in Switzerland. These countries are listed in Annex 4 (list of countries) of the EAER Ordinance on Organic Farming.

The Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG recognizes certification bodies and inspection authorities of countries not included in the list of countries, if the certification bodies and inspection authorities can prove that the products in question meet the conditions laid down in Article 22 of the Organic Farming Ordinance. The certification bodies and inspection authorities are listed in Annex 4a of the EAER Ordinance on Organic Farming.

Equivalence Arrangements

The authorities of the European Union (EU), Canada, Japan and the United States of America (USA) have officially confirmed to the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) that they recognise the Swiss Organic Farming Regulations as being equivalent to their own national regulations.

In return, Switzerland recognises the regulations governing organic farming, the processing and labelling of organic products and control systems of the aforementioned states as being equivalent to the Swiss Organic Farming Regulations.

This mutual recognition is the result of intensive bilateral negotiations. It simplifies and promotes trade in organic products.