Sales of Australian organic food and wine to China are expected to increase following the signing of the organic trade access agreement between the two countries.

The agreement was signed in Adelaide by Australian organic certifier the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA) and a Chinese organic certification body. The deal will allow NASAA to inspect organic operations for export to China, the first time any foreign organisation has gained such approval.

NASAA general manager Ben Copeman said it was the most significant initiative for the Australian organic industry in 30 years. "We estimate it could add A $60 million to A $100 million a year in trade to the Australian organic sector," he said.

"It will save operators thousands of dollars and months of paperwork in exporting their organic products to China." The deal will allow NASAA-trained and Beijing WuYue HuaXia Management and Technique Center (CHC) approved inspectors in Australia to audit certified operators.

Mr Copeland said this would allow Australian organic producers access to the highly regulated Chinese organic market with the same ease and cost structure as access to the American, Japanese or European organic markets. The Australian organic industry produced A $1.27 billion worth of produce in 2012 and is estimated to be growing by about 15 per cent a year.

Source: The Advertiser (Australia)