Chiapas, first place nationally in organic organizations certified by the USDA NOP

Chiapas ranks first nationwide in certified organic coffee organizations registered with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Federal Regulatory Program (USDA NOP), with 70 associations that bring together some 40,000 producers from the Costa, Soconusco, Sierra and Frailesca regions.

The San Francisco de Asís Agroecology Center (CASFA) highlighted that in recent years they have worked hard to meet the requirements set by the USDA NOP, which develops and applies consistent national standards for organically produced agricultural products sold in the United States.

It stressed that all this has occurred in the face of the growing demand for organic products in the USA and Europe, which is why the production of specialty coffee has also picked up in Chiapas, and organic coffee even more so.

Noting that coffee production in Chiapas has grown thanks to programs such as Sembrando Vida, CASFA announced that 2 million 132 thousand quintals are currently produced, of which some 400 thousand are certified organic green coffee, which is equivalent to 18 thousand 140 tons of the aromatic (representing 30 percent).

It added that 3 thousand tons are sold in the national market and 15 thousand are exported mainly to the United States, which represents an economic spillover of 3 thousand 500 million pesos and 80 million dollars, respectively.

The San Francisco de Asís Agroecology Center said that the municipalities of Tapachula, Motozintla and Jaltenango stand out among the organic coffee producing regions.

It is worth mentioning that NOP also accredits third-party organizations to certify that farms and companies comply with national organic standards. These certifiers and the USDA work together to enforce standards, ensuring a level playing field for producers and protecting consumer confidence in the integrity of the USDA Organic Seal. (Press Release)

Source: noticasdechiapas