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Is the price
difference between organic and conventional seed an important
issue in Europe? Does the European legislation address this
issue?
For
bi-annual species (onion, carrot, cabbage) this is more of an
issue than for annual species (lettuce, sweet pepper,
tomatoes, cucumber).
Therefore
it is also so very important to avoid ‘loopholes’ in the
regulations, otherwise price issues will continue to play a
decisive factor in the question whether to use or not to use
organic seed. This could undermine the philosophy and
therefore the future of organic produce (see my remarks on
page 1).
If the extra cost of the use
of organic seed is to be paid as a separate charge on the cost
of the final product, then the additional cost effect is minimal.
However, as products pass through
several hands in the distribution channel, every link in the
chain adds its own margin on top of the purchase price
(instead of a fixed nominal amount) and then the final cost
effect is higher than is sometimes desirable. |
