The paper analyses the manner in which organic agriculture has developed in the emerging
countries of the European Union, in particular during the current economic crisis.
Organic agriculture represents a continuously expanding sector in the European Union. In the
period 2000-2012, the total utilized area for organic production increased by 6.7% per year on the
average, reaching approximately 9.6 million hectares, accounting for 5.4% of the total utilized
agricultural area in the EU.
The emerging nations in the European Union (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland and Romania) have experienced a brisk development pace in terms of the area farmed under
the organic system, which expanded to 1,614,226 hectares in the period 2009-2012, representing
17% of the total organic land area of the European Union.
Owing to the significant areas farmed under the organic system and to the large number of
registered operators, which also correlate with a low development level of the domestic markets for
organic agricultural products, the emerging nations of the European Union represent an important
source for imports of organic products in the EU.