Spain’s organic farming sector is sending a clear message to Brussels: free trade with Mercosur is welcome, but only if the rules are truly the same for everyone. While many conventional farmers in Europe fear South American competition, organic producers in Spain say they are not worried about organic food imports from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay—because those products already have to meet strict EU standards to enter the European market.
Organic Producers Are Not Afraid of Fair Competition
According to Álvaro Barrera, president of Ecovalia, South American organic products are certified under the same EU regulations as European ones. For more than 15 years, the EU has maintained equivalence agreements on organic, biological and ecological production with Mercosur countries, as well as with Chile, Mexico and the United States. That means shared rules on fertilizers, plant protection products, waiting periods and inspections.
Because of this existing framework, Spain’s organic sector does not see the EU–Mercosur free trade deal as a threat in itself: the “rules of the game” for organic production are already aligned on the European side.
The Real Problem: Reciprocity
Where the sector does see a problem is in reciprocity—or rather, the lack of it. European organic producers argue that, although Mercosur organics can enter the EU under EU rules, European organic products do not enjoy the same ease of access into Mercosur markets.
Barrera stresses that a European organic product, fully certified under EU law and meeting equivalent standards to those in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay or Uruguay, still cannot access those markets on equal terms. Ecovalia and other organizations want this asymmetry corrected so that European farmers and livestock producers can compete on a level playing field.
A Missed Opportunity Without Mutual Access
If reciprocity were fully implemented, the EU–Mercosur agreement could become a powerful growth engine for European organic production. Ecovalia believes that markets such as Brazil and Argentina would be particularly receptive to high-value European organic products like olive oil and wine. Instead of seeing the deal solely as a risk, the sector frames it as a potential export opportunity—provided mutual recognition and equal conditions are guaranteed.
“The agri-food sector is not against free trade agreements in principle,” Barrera notes; rather, it demands equal rules on the table, so that organic producers in Spain are not disadvantaged compared to their South American counterparts.
One Message to Brussels: Same Standards, Same Access
In short, Spain’s organic sector has a nuanced stance:
- It accepts South American organic imports, because they already comply with EU rules.
- It does not accept a situation where EU organics face more obstacles entering Mercosur than Mercosur organics face entering the EU.
- It views genuine reciprocity as the key to transforming the EU–Mercosur agreement from a source of anxiety into a shared opportunity for sustainable, high-value trade on both sides of the Atlantic.
