The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is warning organic soybean importers that product from west Africa may pose risks to consumers and is directing organic certifiers to increase inspections and testing.
USDA's National Organics Program (NOP) on 27 September issued a directive to certifiers of organic soybeans and soybean meal from west Africa requiring increase oversight of the organic soybean supply chain over concerns about a lack of adequate controls in the region.
Organic certifiers in west Africa are being required to increase on-site inspections and expand sample testing of organic soy products. The certifiers also by 28 October must provide NOP with descriptions of their oversight practices, as NOP evaluates whether to expand its own surveillance.
Regulators took action in response to "the rapid growth of soybeans represented as organic in the region, security concerns in the region that can impede the ability for certifiers to conduct unannounced inspections, the prevalence of producer groups with thousands of members and associated issues with full traceability, feasible yields and adequate internal control systems, and known attempts to sell nonorganic soybeans from the region as organic", according to the directive obtained by Argus.
The directive also prohibits certifiers from issuing time-based NOP import certificates within the region. Time-based certificates allow for multiple shipments of organic products to be certified for export over a period of time, in contrast to non-time-based certificates which are specific to each shipment.
The move comes in the wake of a sharp increase in US imports of organic soybeans and soybean meal from west Africa over the past two years.
Organic certification within west Africa is relatively concentrated. According to the Organic Integrity Database, Ecocert SAS certifies over half of all organic operations in the region. The next most common certifier in the countries is the Control Union Certifications, which certifies about 33pc of operations.
US reliance on west African organic soy supplies has ballooned in recent years. Through September 2024, 42pc of US organic soybean meal imports and 11pc of organic whole soybean imports were sourced from west African countries, according to Argus organic import data. Two years ago, west African countries accounting for only 3.6pc of US organic soybean meal imports.
Regarding what impact this directive could have on organic soy markets, Jennifer Tucker, the deputy administrator of the USDA NOP, said that "in the past, directives have led to both certifier and operation surrenders and some changes in exports as fraud was removed from the system".
But "buyers who have invested in and continue to do effective due diligence and oversight on their supply chains should not be affected," she said.
