The deal, agreed in principle in April 2014 but only announced recently, will see British charity the Soil Association facilitate the exports of a range of organic products to China.
Demand for organic produce in the world’s second-biggest economy is growing thanks to a burgeoning middle class, and the market for organic food is estimated to be worth $9bn (£5.9bn) by the end of 2015.
The first to receive their licence is the Organic Milk Suppliers Co-operative (OMSCo), but there is scope for organic meat producers to capitalise on the Chinese certificate deal.
'Opens the door'
Soil Association spokeswoman Emily McCoy told GlobalMeatNews: “Now that the first certification through our partnership with the OFDC has been awarded, this opens up the door for other Soil Association certification licensees to become certified via this route.
“The partnership means that other licensees, including UK meat product producers, may be able to take advantage of the developing market for organic in China.”
Emma Yeats, also from the Soil Association, added: “The organic application process is more complex and the regulations differ to those of the EU.
'New export opportunities'
“[But] through our partnership with OFDC we helped make the certification process more efficient, offering technical support every step of the way, enabling our customers to gain certification and find new export opportunities in this rapidly developing market. Our unique export support service is available to all of our customers.”
The Soil Association is a wholly-owned subsidiary. It was founded in 1946 by a group of forward-thinking farmers, scientists, doctors and nutritionists, who wanted to improve collective thinking on the health of the soil, food, animals, people and the environment.