2.1 Data Sources, Scope, and Analytical Principles
2.1.1 Data Sources
Organic products are products produced and processed in accordance with the principles of organic agriculture and the production methods and standards for organic products, and certified by a legitimate organic product certification body with a certificate issued. The organic products discussed in this report specifically refer to products intended for human consumption and animal feeding that comply with Chinese and foreign national standards for organic products in their production, processing, and sales processes, and have obtained organic product certification certificates.
The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNCA) developed the China Food and Agricultural Products Certification Information System (hereinafter referred to as the Information System), which has been officially operating since September 2006. As a platform for the collection and dissemination of food and agricultural product certification information by the national certification and accreditation administrative department, the Information System has received extensive attention from relevant departments, organizations, and consumers since its operation. Relevant law enforcement departments, domestic and international food and agricultural product purchasers, and certified enterprises have regarded the Information System as an important source of information. China's management and supervision of organic production enterprises is mainly conducted through the organic certification system, whereby accredited certification bodies certify production enterprises for organic products and report the certified organic production information to the China Food and Agricultural Products Certification Information System.
As of December 31, 2014, there were 23 certification bodies approved by the CNCA to conduct organic product certification. They conduct organic product certification in accordance with the national standard "Organic Products" and the "Measures for the Administration of Organic Product Certification" and the "Implementation Rules for Organic Product Certification," and all have obtained accreditation from the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS). Unless otherwise specified in this report, except for the data in Parts 5 and 6 which are certified according to foreign standards, all other data are derived from the China Food and Agricultural Products Certification Information System.
In 2014, the international certification bodies conducting certification work within China according to foreign standards included ECOCERT of France, BCS of Germany, CERES of Germany, JONA of Japan, IBD of Brazil, and Italy
BAC, six foreign-funded organic certification bodies in total. The overseas certification data in Parts 1–6 of this report are derived from the above foreign certification bodies.
2.1.2 Analytical Scope and Principles
2.1.1.1 Regional and Product Scope
The organic product production regions covered in this report refer to the 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government, and 2 special administrative regions within China, and also include organic product production regions in 21 countries including Italy, Spain, and Austria that are certified within China according to Chinese organic product standards or foreign organic standards. The time range covers all certified enterprises that obtained valid organic certificates from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. According to the latest updated "Catalogue of Organic Products" by the CNCA, this report classifies organic products into four major categories: plant products (including wild plant collection), livestock and poultry products, aquatic products, and processed products, and classifies and analyzes organic production activities according to these categories.
2.1.1.2 Analytical Principles and Related Explanations
In the data analysis process, the scale of organic production is usually expressed using indicators such as area, production output, and quantity. In the production of organic plant products, we divide it into organic crop production and wild collection production, usually expressed by the production area and output of organic products. The data analysis process involves the total organic cultivation area as well as the production area of different crops in different provinces. The production area referred to here means the planting/sowing area of each crop, including the area of multiple crop plantings on the same cultivated land, especially the production of multi-season vegetables. Organic cultivation areas always include both organic and conversion period areas. If a product is in the organic conversion period, it will be specifically noted in the text. In organic livestock and poultry production, output and quantity are mainly used to express the production scale, while organic aquatic product production and organic processed products mainly use output to express their production scale.
In some regions of China, there still exist traditional agriculture and the currently emerging community-supported agriculture. Although their production methods usually also conform to the principles of organic agriculture, these products have not yet been certified. Therefore, the organic products discussed in this chapter do not include these products. Regarding the analysis of organic production regional distribution, the relevant information of certification certificates is analyzed mainly based on the location of the certificate applicant. In actual practice, the location of the organic applicant is not necessarily the location of the organic production base and processing plant. Therefore, certain deviations may occur when analyzing the regional distribution of organic certificates and the subsequent analysis of organic production regions.
2.2 Overview of Organic Product Production in 2014
As of December 31, 2014, a total of 8,792 production enterprises had obtained 11,499 organic product certification certificates under Chinese standards, distributed across 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government, and 2 special administrative regions within China. In 2014, a total of 10 certification bodies conducted overseas certification under Chinese standards in 21 countries, issuing 121 organic certificates and certifying 66 enterprises. In 2014, the number of enterprises producing and certified under foreign standards in China was 1,198, with 1,037 production bases and 698 organic product processing plants (Table 2-1).
The overall situation of production according to Chinese organic product standards is as follows: the total organic plant production area was 1.945 million hectares, of which the organic cultivation area was 1.124 million hectares, and the total wild collection production area was 822,000 hectares. The total output of organic plant products was 7.516 million tons, of which the organic certified output was 6.903 million tons, and the total wild collection output was 613,000 tons. The top five provinces in terms of organic crop cultivation area under Chinese organic product standards were Heilongjiang (220,000 hectares), Inner Mongolia (142,000 hectares), Guizhou (108,000 hectares), Liaoning (102,000 hectares), and Xinjiang (74,000 hectares). The main areas for wild collection of organic products in China are in the northeast and northwest regions; the top five were Heilongjiang (281,000 hectares), Jilin (84,000 hectares), Qinghai (67,000 hectares), Inner Mongolia (61,000 hectares), and Zhejiang (28,000 hectares), while the coastal eastern regions had very little wild collection area.
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In 2014, among organic livestock produced according to Chinese organic product standards, sheep, cattle, and pigs were the main livestock raised, with approximately 4.14 million organic sheep, nearly 1.15 million organic cattle, and 160,000 organic pigs. In terms of output, the total output of organic livestock, poultry, and their products in 2014 was 1.058 million tons, and the total output of organic livestock was 263,000 tons, of which sheep output reached 130,000 tons, cattle 113,000 tons, and organic pigs 14,000 tons. There was also production of horses, donkeys, and deer, but their proportion was relatively small. In poultry farming, China raised a total of 1.43 million organic chickens (including broilers and laying hens) in 2014, occupying a dominant position in organic poultry production. In 2014, the production volume of animal products was 793,000 tons, of which organic cow milk was the main animal product at 784,000 tons, accounting for 99.0% of the total output of organic animal products; the output of organic eggs was 3,800 tons, accounting for 0.5% of the total output of organic animal products. In 2014, the total output of aquatic products was 294,000 tons, of which aquatic plant products (mainly kelp and laver produced in seawater) accounted for 187,000 tons, representing 63.7% of the total certified aquatic product output; followed by fresh and live fish (freshwater and marine fish) at 71,000 tons, accounting for 24.0%, of which 97.4% were freshwater fish. Crustaceans and invertebrates accounted for 36,000 tons, representing 12.2%. The output of aquatic vertebrates (turtles) was 561 tons, accounting for a very small proportion of only 0.2%. In 2014, the total output of organic processed products was 2.284 million tons. Among processed products, grain milling had the highest output at 953,000 tons, accounting for 41.7% of the total organic processed products, mainly rice (flour) and wheat flour; processed liquid milk or cream ranked second at 451,000 tons, accounting for 19.8%; processed feed ranked third at 244,000 tons, accounting for 10.7%. The above three categories accounted for 72.2% of processed product output. The output of vegetable oil processing by-products, noodle and other grain flour products, baijiu (Chinese liquor), vegetable oil processing, and processed or preserved vegetables was between 50,000 and 100,000 tons, accounting for 2.2% to 4.1%; the output of fruit and vegetable juices, starch and starch products, meat products and by-product processing was below 50,000 tons, accounting for less than 2.0%.
In 2014, a total of 10 certification bodies conducted overseas certification in 21 countries, issuing 121 organic certificates and certifying 66 enterprises. The country with the highest number of certificates obtained was Italy, followed by Spain, Austria, Denmark, Australia, the United States, New Zealand, Germany, and Thailand. The total overseas certification area for Chinese organic products was 265,000 hectares, mainly distributed in Turkey, Denmark, Brazil, Italy, and Spain; there were 52 varieties of organic products certified overseas, of which 28 were processed products. The total output of overseas-produced organic products was 965,000 tons, of which milk output was 683,000 tons, accounting for 70.8% of the total overseas organic products, and other processed products were 143,000 tons, mainly wine, vegetable oil, and condiments. In 2014, products certified according to foreign organic standards mainly included plant products, livestock and poultry products, processed products, and aquatic products. The total certified organic cultivation area was 1,113,800 hectares, of which the organic certified area was 800,700 hectares and the wild collection area was 328,400 hectares. In 2014, the total certified output of plant products was 3,358,600 tons (58.47%), processed products 2,275,400 tons (39.62%), livestock and poultry products 107,200 tons (1.87%), and aquatic products 2,500 tons (0.04%).
In 2014, the total output value of various organic products was 116.4 billion yuan. The output value of processed products was 75 billion yuan, of which the output value of processed liquid milk and cream reached 28 billion yuan, and the output value of processed products accounted for 64.4% of the total output value of organic products; the output value of grains was 8.5 billion yuan, accounting for 7.3%; followed by fruits and nuts at 7.6 billion yuan, accounting for 6.5%. The output value of these three categories accounted for 78.3% of the total output value.
In 2014, 1.056 billion organic labels were filed for record, of which 727 million were for milk, 36 million for baijiu, 28 million for yogurt, 20 million for rice, and 13 million for vegetables and wine. By region, Inner Mongolia had the highest number at 455 million labels, followed by Guizhou at 35 million, Heilongjiang at 30 million, Shandong at 26 million, and Guangdong at 17 million. Among the 23 organic certification bodies, the top five in terms of the number of organic product label filings were Zhonglv Huaxia, Nanjing Guohuan, Hangzhou Wantai, Wuzhou Hengtong, and Liaoning Fangyuan.
In 2014, the total verified sales volume of organic products with labels issued in China (i.e., the total weight covered by the labels) was 432,000 tons, of which processed products accounted for 354,000 tons, representing 81.9%; followed by plant products at 73,000 tons, accounting for 16.8%; aquatic products at 4,000 tons and livestock and poultry at 1,000 tons. Based on the verified sales volume of issued labels and current organic product prices, the sales revenue of organic products in 2014 was estimated at 30.2 billion yuan, of which organic processed products accounted for 28.37 billion yuan, representing 93.7% of total sales; followed by plant products at 1.62 billion yuan, accounting for 5.4%; the sales of aquatic products and livestock and poultry were 240 million yuan and 40 million yuan respectively. For livestock and poultry, only the sales of poultry eggs were counted, while livestock and poultry meat was counted under processed products.
In 2014, China's total export trade value of organic products was 586 million USD, with a total trade volume of 284,700 tons. In terms of trade value, processed products had the largest trade value at 403 million USD, accounting for 68.83% of the total trade value; followed by primary agricultural products at 173 million USD (29.48%), wild collection products at 7.7147 million USD (1.32%), and animal products at 2.1914 million USD (0.37%). In terms of trade volume, primary agricultural products ranked first at 135,300 tons, accounting for 47.58% of the total trade volume, followed by processed products at 119,100 tons (41.76%), wild collection at 29,900 tons (10.51%), and animal
products at 400 tons (0.14%).
2.3 Regional Distribution of Organic Product Certification
As of December 31, 2014, among China's 34 provincial-level administrative regions, there were 11,499 valid organic product certification certificates and 8,792 certified enterprises, with the number of certificates and enterprises increasing by 15.5% and 45.3% respectively compared to 2013. Except for Macao, all 33 provinces, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and autonomous regions in China had a certain amount of organic agricultural production and processing activities.
The distribution of organic production regions in China is related to various factors such as climatic conditions, topographical conditions, and levels of economic development. Table 2-2 shows the distribution of organic product certification certificates under Chinese standards in 2014. Similar to the situation in 2013, most organic product certification certificates in China were concentrated in the two major regions of the northeast and the eastern coast. The northeast region, due to its unique regional resource advantages, has a relatively large number of enterprises and production bases; while the eastern region, due to a more active market and higher degree of industrialization, particularly has a concentration of processing enterprises. Overall, China's organic product certification enterprises basically show a characteristic of more in the east and fewer in the west. In recent years, although Sichuan, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang are located in the economically underdeveloped western regions of China, the organic industry has developed very rapidly, especially in Guizhou and Sichuan, where organic agriculture has developed rapidly due to their unique ecological advantages.
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From the perspective of regional distribution of organic certificates obtained, the top five provinces were Heilongjiang, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Guizhou, and Shandong. Among them, Heilongjiang had the most organic certificates at 1,236, accounting for 10.7% of the valid certification certificates issued in China in 2014; in addition to Heilongjiang, Guizhou, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Shandong, Jilin, Jiangsu, and Inner Mongolia all issued more than 500 valid certificates in 2014. Tibet, Qinghai, and Tianjin were the areas with the least distribution of organic agriculture in the country.
The distribution pattern of organic certified enterprises in China is similar to the distribution pattern of certificates. Heilongjiang had the largest number of organic product certified enterprises at 573, followed by Sichuan, Zhejiang, Shandong, Jilin, Jiangsu, and Xinjiang, all of which had more than 250 certified organic product enterprises (Table 2-3). There were 66 overseas certified enterprises.
2.4 Distribution of Different Types of Organic Product Certificates
According to the "Catalogue of Organic Products," organic products are divided into four major categories: plant products (including cultivation and wild collection), livestock and poultry products, aquatic products, and processed products. The distribution of the number of various organic product certificates in China and their proportion of the total certificates issued (11,499) is shown in Table 2-4. In 2014, China's organic products were still dominated by primary products, with certificates for plant product production accounting for a large proportion, followed by processed products, while livestock and poultry products and aquatic products were relatively few. Among them, the number of production certificates for crop cultivation was 7,467, accounting for 64.9% of all organic certificates; wild collection certificates were 334, accounting for 2.9%; livestock and poultry and aquatic product production certificates were also relatively few, distributed as 542 and 560 respectively, accounting for less than 5% of the total number of certificates, while processed product certificates were basically 3,000, accounting for approximately 1/4 of the total number of certificates.
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2.5 Development Trends of the Organic Industry
Figure 2-1 shows the development trend of organic product certificates in China from 2004 to 2014. As can be seen from the figure, during these 11 years, the number of organic product certification certificates has been continuously increasing. In 2004, there were only 22 organic certificates, while in 2014 the number of certificates was 11,499 (60 times the number issued in 2005). The growth rates of organic certificates in 2013 and 2014 were 25.8% and 15.5% respectively. The development trend of organic product certification certificates reflects that China's organic industry is showing a state of rapid and steady development.
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