Rennes: Council and Parliament negotiators reached a provisional agreement on 20 October 2026 on updated organic farming rules, raising the certification exemption for small sellers and tightening conditions for imports that carry the EU logo. The Irish presidency led the talks for the Council and wants formal adoption before the end of 2026.

Irish Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon welcomed the result. “Today, the Irish Presidency has delivered a strong result for farmers, consumers and the agri-food sector,” he said, according to the Council press release. The revision aims to make the rules clearer, cut administrative burdens and protect the integrity of the EU organic label.

The new organic farming rules double the thresholds for small operators selling unpackaged organic goods directly to consumers. Annual turnover can rise from EUR 20,000 to EUR 40,000, measured as a five-year average, and sales volume from 5,000 kg to 10,000 kg. The exemption from certification also extends to small online retailers of pre-packed products under certain conditions.

Imports face a firmer line. Products from countries with recognised equivalent organic standards can still be marketed as “organic” and carry their home country’s logo, but they must meet extra requirements on living soil, animal welfare and processing to use the EU logo. Negotiators dropped the Commission’s idea of allowing the EU logo on products with up to 5% non-EU ingredients that miss those criteria.

The deal also extends recognition for 11 non-EU countries, including Argentina, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, from 31 December 2026 to 31 December 2036. Derogations that allow non-organic protein feed for poultry and pigs, and non-organic juveniles in aquaculture, will phase out gradually. Products already labelled under the old rules can stay on sale until stocks run out.

For a farm-gate or market seller, the higher thresholds mean less certification paperwork. Doubling the turnover and volume limits keeps more micro-producers outside the certification system, while the extension to small online retailers of pre-packed products reflects how many organic sales now move through the internet.

For exporters in the 11 recognised countries, the 2036 date gives a decade of legal certainty, although products that want the EU logo must meet the extra living soil, animal welfare and processing conditions. Importers will therefore need to separate lines that carry the home logo from lines that qualify for the EU logo under the organic farming rules.

Both institutions must still endorse the agreement and complete legal-linguistic revision before formal adoption of the organic farming rules. The text amends Regulation (EU) 2018/848, which has applied since January 2022. It follows the Commission’s “Organic rulebook fit for the future” roadmap.

The stakes are rising because the sector keeps growing. The Commission says EU organic farmland expanded 79%, from 9.5 to 16.9 million hectares. A Court of Justice ruling of 4 October 2024 added urgency by finding that imported products recognised under equivalence arrangements cannot use the EU organic logo, so the new organic farming rules must close that gap for farmers and consumers.