On 21 December 2017, eighteen Kosovo companies received organic certification for their products. These certificates issued by the certification body Albinspekt mark the successful completion of the support provided to these companies also through Swiss Government funds.

The ceremony was organized by the Kosovo Association of Non-Wood Forest Products and Medicinal and Aromatic Plants ORGANIKA. It was officiated by the Kosovo Minister of Agriculture nenad Rikalo, the representative of the Swiss Agency for Development and Coopeation for Western Balkans Stefan Butcher, the representatives of Albinspekt, businesses and other sector stakeholders.

The trend for organic food and ingredients is growing fast in Europea and worldwide. The organic tag adds value to any Kosovo product and has a direct influence on buyer perceptions in both the domestic and export markets. This is an opportunity for Kosovo to tackle its trade deficit problem and increase employment. “Organic certification for these companies is a huge achievement and a turning point for this sector,” said Faton Nagavci, Executive Director of ORGANIKA.

The activity for the promotion of organic certification of the NWFP and MAP companies is implemented by ORGANIKA, with the support of the Swisscontact project PPSE in Kosovo.