CERTCOST – Economic Analysis of Certification Systems for Organic Food and Farming at EU level

Summary

With the ongoing growth of the organic sector and the spread of organic production across the EU, the field of organic certification has become a maze of competing labels and logos. This diversity reflects the specific conditions in different regions and countries, but can also lead to confusion for producers and consumers, as well as create a variety of costs. It is imperative to conduct a comprehensive economic analysis of the variety of existing certification systems and their impact on the internal European market for organic goods. This project proposes to combine the experience and knowledge of both researchers and SMEs to analyse the implementation of organic certification systems and to estimate all relevant expenditures or transaction costs for different certification systems along the organic food supply chain. Benefits of certification will also be analysed, using data on consumers’ recognition and willingness to pay for different organic logos and trademarks. Finally, recommendations will be drawn for the EU Commission, national competent authorities and private actors in organic food and farming on how to increase effectiveness and efficiency of organic certification.