|
BioFach
Brasil Conference 2003
|
|
|
|
|
The
2003 Biofach Conference, held on September 25 and 26, at Hotel Glória,
Rio de Janeiro, surpassed all expectations. 600 people were
expected but a total of 1,200 attended the event. During the
opening ceremony, Vice-Governor Luiz Paulo Conde and Agriculture
Secretary Christiano Áureo officially launched the Organic
Cultivar Program, considered by
Secretary Christiano Áureo to be a significant step
towards the growth of the organic market in the State of Rio de
Janeiro.
|
|
|
 |
88.6%
of exhibitors declared their intention to take part in the BioFach
2004, and the socialization among producers, traders, service
providers, certifiers and visitors made possible the only
chemistry that is well accepted among organic-minded people, that
is, emotion.
Visitors
from 14 countries and several states in Brazil were present,
prospecting for new opportunities, and they also left the event
feeling pleased, in accordance with a declaration made by the
representative of Ecoamazon, from the State of Acre: “I am
returning with wonderful news for all the Amazon extracting
communities that take part in the project. I am sure
that, from now on, we will reap the good harvest that this
enterprise has brought to us. Thank you for this special
opportunity!”
|
|
|
|
All
the declarations are special, but we highlight one, which sums up
the general feeling and which came from a family farmer who was
approached by several purchasers:“I had never felt so important!”This
was the mission of our BioFach Conference: to project Brazil onto
the level it deserves to occupy in the international organic
market scenario. What we have to do now is to continue the task
that has just been started …
Thanks to all those who made this Biofach Conference a great
success! |
 |
Vice-Governor
Luiz Paulo Conde, the German Ambassador Uwe Kaestner
and Secretary Christiano Áureo, at the opening ceremony of
the 2003 BioFach Conference |
|
|
|
|
|
Here
are some facts and figures relating to the national and
international organic sector presented at the Biofach Conference
|
|
|
 |
| Stand
belonging to the Agrarian Development Ministry, with family
farmers |
|
Moacir
Darolt (from IAPAR)
made his presentation focusing on the consumer, and brought us
important data relating to the growth of the domestic organic
market. Darolt showed that the international organic market had a
turnover of 23 to 25 billion dollars in the year 2003, while the
Brazilian market’s turnover, in the 2001/2002 period, amounted
to 200 million dollars (0.8% of the world market).
Darolt,
Valter Bianchini and Vital Carvalho Filho – the latter two from
the
Agrarian
Development Ministry –
highlighted the important role that Family Farming is already
playing and may still have in Brazilian organic production, since
it is responsible for 75% of the food served at our tables. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Support
for Family Farming was also the focus of the presentations given by
Jean Marc van der Weid (AS-PTA) and Celina Amaral Peixoto
(SEBRAE-RJ). Jean Marc pointed out that both from the quality
of life point of view and the strategic point of view, the organic
sector should receive special attention from the Brazilian
Government.
Celina
pointed out that a new way of thinking has started to appear
throughout the world, especially concerned with the following items:
|
 |
| Herta
Krausmann(NurnbergGlobalFairs), Celina Amaral Peixoto
(SEBRAE-RJ) Gunnar Rundgren (IFOAM) e o Embaixador da
Alemanha Uwe Kaestner |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Celina
ended her presentation by calling special attention to the fact
that “while
we spend a good part of our time worrying about economic deficits,
we forget that the ecological deficit is the one that really
threatens future generations”.
|
|
|
The
same concern in relation to the ecological
deficit
was
raised by Roberto
Selig (ABIO), who presented the history of ABIO, a
certifier in the State of Rio de Janeiro, and by Fernando
Augusto de Souza (AECO and KORIN). Fernando Souza also
mentioned the tax question. "With a view to
reducing the use of chemical pesticides, some countries in
the European Community have introduced taxes on the
consumption of these products. Concerned about the
contamination of 25% of their aquifers by chemical
pesticides, the European Community is encouraging the
approval of laws and tax benefits in order to stimulate the
practice of organic farming.” Fernando added.
The
chart below, from Fernando Souza’s presentation, shows a
graph relating to this practice adopted in several countries:
|
|
|
In
the United Kingdom, a manufacturer of chemical pesticides
pays a percentage of its sales –1.85% of the final price
– to the control system.
In
Denmark the charge is 2.5%, and in Norway the rate is 13%.
Part
of the amount collected goes to supervision and another part
is being allocated to research, with a view to promoting
alternative cultivation techniques.
The
need for research was also highlighted in this presentation. |
|
|
|
Fernanda
Fonseca, Alexandre Harkaly and Paulo Lenhardt took part in the
panel on Certification and Legislation for Organic Products in
Brazil. Harkaly and Fernanda presented a history of the development
of the organic movement and mentioned the positive and negative
aspects of the Brazilian organic sector. Harkaly stressed that
"Brazilian norms are incomplete and out of date, with the
market and legal security lacking credibility in the eyes of the
consumer".
Paulo
Lenhardt talked about the growth in participative certification and
the importance of broadening the debate on the subject. Fernanda Fonseca presented several data on certification, including
the number of countries – a total of 56 – that already have
organic regulations, which are distributed as follows:
|
 |
Fully
implemented = 33 (15
in the EU, 8 in Europe, 6 in Asia and 3 in America and the
Caribbean)
|
|
Not
fully implemented = 8 (3
in the EU, 1 in Asia, 3 in America and the Caribbean and 1
in Africa) |
|
Being
drafted = 15 (4 in the EU, 4 in Asia, 3 in America and the
Caribbean, 2 in Africa and 2 in the Middle East)
|
|
|
|
|
Pierre
Landolt (Fazenda Tamanduá), in his presentation based on his
experience as a producer in the North-Eastern semi-arid region,
highlighted logistics as one of the obstacles to the growth in
the organic market, among other challenges.
Landolt
added that “it is necessary to make the exporting states in the
North-Eastern region aware of the need to invest in cold storage for
pallets. Only one port in the North-East, Natal in the State of Rio
Grande do Norte, has invested heavily in cold storage and only one
ocean transport company- Lauritzen Cool – has a refrigerated hold
system.” |
 |
|
|
|
|
Marco
Giotto (Rio de Una) also mentioned the question of logistics as a
challenge for a country like Brazil, of continental size. Re-education
on eating habits was one of the points raised by Marco Giotto as
needing to receive greater attention in order to promote the organic
concept.
The
lack of precise data for a proper diagnosis of the sector
was indicated in the presentation of Cristina Neves (EMBRAPA) as
one of the difficulties in evaluating organic production in Brazil.
According to Cristina:
|
|
There
are no official statistics
|
|
Information
belongs to the certifying companies |
|
There
are very many certifiers
|
|
Only
the plantations with greater economic interest are certified |
|
Only
the certified area is accounted for.
|
|
|
|
|
A
unanimous opinion expressed in all presentations was the urgent
need for clear and definitive regulations for the sector. Luiz
Carlos Demattê, whose presentation was about the Prospects for
Organic Chicken, said that "the packaging should be
differentiated, but the identification as "organic"
on the label is not yet allowed by the Ministry of Agriculture/DIPOA".
This is an obstacle indicated by everyone and in all research
carried out.
Nathan
Herszkowicz and Sérgio Pedini talked about Organic Coffee, and
the scenarios for organic coffee in Brazil are presented
below:
|
|
|
The
market is expanding at an average of 20% per year |
| Overprice
on the raw material of 20% to 30% in relation to
non-organic products |
| Increased
supply of green coffee should reduce the differential |
| Consumer
prices should reach a stable level |
| There
is a trend towards producing under private labels |
| Leading
regional brands will operate in the segment |
|
|
|
|
The
willingness to pay a premium for organic meat
was clearly presented in Homero Figliolini’s address, as
can be seen in the graph below:
|
|
Willingness
to pay a premium |
|
| Distributor |
%
premium on the price |
| Pão
de Açúcar |
10
to
15% |
| Carrefour |
10% |
| Santa
Luzia |
Up
to 25% |
| Wessel |
15% |
| Dinho's
Place |
5% |
| Rubayat |
20% |
| Mister
Grill |
20% |
|
|
|
|
The
importance of information to the consumer and of the development
of institutional marketing was also a common issue in several
presentations, such as that of Leontino Balbo (Native), Marco
Giotto ( Rio de Una), Yara Carvalho (AAO), Jaime Xavier (Zona
Sul), Leonardo Myao (Pão de Açúcar) and David Kleerekoper (Maraú
/ Wessanen).
Maria
Beatriz Costa (Planeta Orgânico) presented the results of the
survey carried out at the BioFach Seminars in several States in
Brazil, reinforcing the need for marketing directed towards the
consumers, who still mix up organic with hydroponic, or simply do
not know the characteristics of the organic product.
|
 |
 |
Maria Beatriz Martins Costa (Planeta Orgânico) |
|
|
|
| Luiz
Aroeira and Marcos Palmeira took care of the Organic Dairy Product
theme. Marcos Palmeira was surprised with the number of people
interested in the theme and proposed that organic milk producers
should be better organized in order to occupy space in the market.
Aroeira brought data on how much milk the Brazilian Government will
have to import in order to supply the Zero Hunger Program.
Consumer
interest in organic milk was also one of the results indicated in a
survey carried out by Planeta Orgânico. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
The
speaker Johannes Schreiner (Hipp) highlighted the growing interest
of mothers in supplying healthy food to their children, especially
so-called "baby food", in which the brand Hipp is a
leader in the acceptance of the German market. In Brazil, the
adoption of the "baby food" concept is still very modest,
and surveys show that even though mothers are keen – very keen
– to give their children healthy products, they seek fresh
products in order to make their babies’ soup.
|
|
|
|
|
The
demand for organic products is greater than the supply in Brazil
and in several other countries. In the opinion of the speaker
Lucio Ceccarelli, of NaturaSì Supermarkets, which supplies only
organic products, it is necessary to have a mix of 2,500 to 3,000
organic products for an organic supermarket to compete with a
conventional one. |
|
 |
|
View
of one of the branches of NaturaSì Supermarkets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Halls
A and C were very popular during the two days of the BioFach Conference,
which proves the great interest in specific topics, such as organic
soy, for example. That was where Antonio Wünsch (Cotrimaio) and
Daniel Johannot (BioCrush) gave their presentations. Both showed the
growth in the domestic and international markets for organic soy. Daniel
stressed the need to work harder on the Brazilian market, whose
potential is still unknown.
Wünsch
also talked about the store in which the Cotrimaio products are sold.
|
|
Banco
do Brasil, Banco do Nordeste and AxialPar were in charge of the
theme Investments and Micro-Financing for Sustainable
Development. Marcio Montello, of Banco do Brasil, highlighted
the BB Organic Agriculture program, which offers financial support
for currents costs, investment and sales expenses, properly
certified. Humberto
Leite (Banco do Nordeste) presented the FNE VERDE
program,
which finances productive activities that emphasize environmental
conservation.
Ralph Wehrle
presented the profile of AxialPar, first risk capital firm in
Brazil focusing on Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). |
|
|
|
Ralph
Wehrle (AxialPar) |
|
|
|
At
the closing ceremony of the BioFach Conference, on September 26,
Herta Krausmann thanked all for their participation, especially of
the members of the BioFach-Brazil 2003 Project Council, who were
on the dais on September 26.
Rosina Guerra, Maria Beatriz Costa and Alvaro Werneck also
expressed their thanks for the support received, and everyone
celebrated the choice of the host city for the Latin American
BioFach, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, on September 8, 9
and 10, 2004.
|
|
|
| From
left to right: Alvaro Werneck (Planeta Orgânico), Gunnar Rundgren ( IFOAM),
Maria Beatriz Martins Costa (Planeta Orgânico), Rosina Guerra ( Planeta
Orgânico), Peter Peters (DEG), Herta Krausmann (NurnbergGlobalFairs), Udo
Censkowsky (Mercabio), Jaime Xavier ( Zona Sul), Pierre Landolt (Fazenda
Tamanduá), Richard Dulley (AAO), Homero Figlolini (ABPO), Alexandre
Harkaly (IBD).
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Rosina
Guerra (Planeta Orgânico), Peter Peters (DEG),
Herta Krausmann ( NurnbergGlobalFairs) |
|
Peter Peters, representing
DEG, the bank that sponsored the BioFach-Brazil Project, said that
this was one of his favorite projects. DEG is an investment company
that gives support to sustainable projects.
The BioFach-Brazil Project
carried out 40 seminars in several states in Brazil, in preparation
for the 2003 BioFach Conference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click
on the date to learn about the program and the speakers |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
