Organic certification and the market: organic exports from and imports to China

Abstract

2014),"Why regular buyers of organic food still buy many conventional products: Product-specific purchase barriers for organic food consumers", British Food Journal, Vol. 116 Iss 3 pp. 390-404 http://dx.If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This paper aims to chart the breadth and acceleration of organic markets domestic and international and discuss the obstacles and possible ways that confront enterprises who engage in organic exports from and imports to China. Design/methodology/approach -There is much extant research that investigates the organic certification and its market development in the developed world. However, little emphasis is given to China, the highest growing organic market. This research aims to narrow this gap in the literature by reviewing organic certification and the market in China. Findings -China's organic products are mainly exported to developed countries, but the growing affluence of Chinese consumers and expanding foreign expatriate community in China is developing a domestic market for organic food. Organic products are increasingly being imported. Organic standards and certification system in China have been established and under the implementation, with all stages of the organic marketing chain regulated by law and guaranteed. The lack of an equivalent or compliant system forces Chinese organic exports to enter the international market through multi-certification, and foreign organic imports to the China market possibly through certification by a CNAS-ACB. Originality/value -This paper provides a unique insight into a wide range of China organic certification systems and the mechanism for organic exports from and imports to China.

Institutionalising the organic labelling scheme in China: a legitimacy perspective

“…1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 21 Similar barriers hinder retailers. While some documents suggest that conventional supermarkets have become the main channel for selling organic produce (ITC 2011;Xie et al 2011;Taylor 2008;Meng et al 2015;Yip and Janssen 2015;Siriex et al 2011), we found negative perceptions and very reserved support for (and further relational influence on) the organic labelling scheme among mainstream retailers.…”

“…The limited relational push from manufacturer and retailer side can partly be explained with dominant perceptions of consumer demand. While consumer studies identify some demand and willingness to pay for organic certified products amongst Chinese consumers (ITC 2011;Liu et al 2013;Xie et al 2011;Yin et al 2010;Zhang et al this volume;Yip and Janssen 2015), this demand is generally considered to be limited to high income consumers in major cities (Lin et al 2010;Thøgersen and Zhou 2012;Yin et al 2010;Xie at al. 2015;Thøgersen et al 2015a;Siriex et al 2011).…”

“…Recent years have seen an increased focus on a rapidly rising Chinese consumer society with organic food officials introducing a national Chinese organic labelling scheme 1 to develop retail sales among China's growing urban middle class" (Thiers 2002: 368). The strategy has been partly successful: the domestic market for products certified and labelled through the Chinese organic labelling scheme has grown significantly since the mid-2000s, particularly in first tier cities (ITC 2011;Xie et al 2011; International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) 2005; Yin et al 2010;Meng et al 2015).…”

Forest certification with Chinese characteristics: state engagement with non-state market-driven governance

“…register with and be approved by CNCA and accredited by CNAS before the certification operation starts (Xie, Li, and Yi 2011 (Xie et al 2011). The Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation note: "Any unit or individual shall not engage in certification activities without approval."…”

A Comparative Analysis on Organic Certification Standard System Between China and the USA

“…Multi-certification should be the best choice. So bureaucracy in the organic certification sector leads to a barrier for the organic imports and exports and even to high costs because of the need of multiple certifications, which were noted as already existing and increasing where the certification body (CB) conducts one inspection against a number of organic standards [3].…”