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Producers of organic-based fertilizers form European consortium in Brussels

May 27, 2014 by Sarah Cayrafourcq

12 innovative companies elected to form the European Consortium of the Organic-Based Fertilizer Industry (ECOFI), following a meeting convened in Brussels on 12 March 2014 by leading producers of organic-based fertilizers, organo-mineral fertilizers and organic soil improvers. In founding ECOFI, the organic-based fertilizers industry responded to the need to create a truly collaborative and representative framework, the absence of which had limited the sector’s involvement in the European regulation of its products and hampered the development of its potential contribution to sustainability. Now, for the first time, producers have a representative voice at the European level and a working structure that is designed to engage with decision-makers in the European Commission, the European Parliament, member state delegations, and other relevant stakeholders.

Luca Bonini, President of ECOFI (and CEO of Italpollina, a leading Italian producer), is a vocal advocate of the role the industry will increasingly play in the development of a sustainable agricultural sector and food chain in Europe. “Organic-based fertilizing technologies support sustainable models of agricultural productivity, social cohesion and economic growth, “ he explains. “As such, our sector is eminently well-aligned with key targets in the context of Europe 2020, the EU’s growth strategy.” Bonini and his fellow board members lead a diverse membership that is now officially represented in the Fertilisers Working Group (FWG) of DG Enterprise by an elected member expert and supported by a dedicated consultancy-based secretariat.

The organic-based fertilizers sector makes a significant and growing contribution to the emergence of a knowledge-intensive, environmentally sustainable and high-employment economy in Europe. Members are active in most European countries and also export to, or are active in, many other countries, including the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Together, the membership accounts for roughly 60% of the European market in organic-based fertilizers, which is worth about 250 million euros. ECOFI membership is open to any European producer in the sector whose production fully ensures the upstream traceability and the origin of raw material components.

The 12 Founding members of ECOFI are: Angibaud & Spécialités | C.F.P.R. Group Roullier | Fomet | Frayssinet | ILSA | Italpollina | Organazoto Fertilizzanti | OvinAlp Fertilisation | Puccioni | SCAM | Sopropêche | Unimer

For more information about ECOFI and organic-based fertilizers, visit www.ecofi.info.