World meat industry news

Head of the National Organic Union, Oleg Mironenko, confirmed that they want to oblige retail to provide shelves for organic products in stores — now retail chains do this at will. The new measure is being considered by the Ministry of Agriculture, a source in the market told Izvestia. It is supposed to be reflected in the developed strategy for the development of organic production until 2030.

The ministry asked retail chains to present their position, a source in one of the retailers noted. The industry believes that it is too early to create a separate shelf for organic products, it will have a narrow assortment: wine, vodka, tea, pasta and milk.

Oleg Mironenko stressed that the organization has developed a draft structure for the development of an organic production strategy and sent it to the ministry. The Union believes that the document should assess the state of the industry, its development goals and scenarios, as well as identify forecasts and measures that should be implemented.

- An integrated approach and financial state support for manufacturers should increase the production of organic products in the Russian Federation, then an additional sales channel within the store may become relevant, - said Oleg Mironenko. - This will encourage buyers to purchase organic products, especially since some chains are already gradually beginning to separate such products in retail outlets. This practice was used in Europe, now in the EU countries they are creating separate stores with organic products.

As part of the discussion of the draft strategy, retail chains were instructed by the Ministry of Agriculture to present their position — how rational it is to provide a separate shelf in stores for organic products, a source in the market said. Chairman of the Presidium of the Association of Retail Trade Companies (ACORT) Igor Karavaev told Izvestia that the organization actively participates at the expert level in the work of the Ministry of Agriculture on the development of a strategy.

A source of Izvestia in one of the retail chains noticed that the range of organic products is now quite narrow, it is not enough to meet the demand from Russian buyers. Imported products are poorly represented. With such introductory statements, it is too early to talk about the appearance of separate shelves with organic products, stressed the interlocutor of Izvestia.

‘This practice has already developed. Some large federal retail chains and marketplaces already provide separate shelves or sections for the sale of organic products,’ says the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture told Izvestia. ‘It is important that this does not mislead consumers.’

Such shelves should present goods labeled as organic products, the ministry stressed. They added that the nomenclature of domestic organic products is actively expanding: 77 manufacturers are included in the state register of producers, this is more than 1 thousand types of goods. Importers can also pass certification and get into the category of organic. So far, two companies with foreign products are included in the register.

It is necessary to separate organic and "green" products on the shelves to educate the consumer — he must understand what real organic is, how it differs from ordinary products, how it is useful, the press service of Roskachestvo (the certification body for manufacturers) said to Izvestia. They added: according to the Center for the Study of Consumer Behavior of Roskachestvo, 82% of respondents reported that they buy organic products, but could not name the brands of products, types of goods. In addition, consumers do not see the difference between the concepts of "organic", "natural", "bio", "eco" and consider these words synonymous.

The press service of Metro told Izvestia that the initiative to provide a shelf is premature: the volume of goods that are certified with the official organic mark is small. Therefore, it may be difficult to fill such a shelf.

If we are talking about removing organic products from the main category shelf and selling them only from a separate organic section, then such a scheme can carry a number of risks, believe in Utkonos Online. Buyers come with a mission to satisfy a specific need, for example, to buy milk, and in the milk category they make a decision whether to take farm, lactose-free or organic milk. Having not seen the product on the main shelf, consumers are unlikely to go looking for organic, added in the retail chain.

The promotion of organic products faces two problems: buyers are poorly familiar with them, and there are few products on the market, said in Magnit to Izvestia.

The development of the industry should be harmonious and follow the demand, said Alexey Popovichev, executive director of the Rusbrand Association, in an interview with Izvestia. Organic products are more expensive than usual, and they cannot be called affordable. Therefore, it is too early to introduce such shelves in all retail chains, since it is unlikely that the product will be very popular, the expert believes.