Importing and exporting organic food

Guide

Last updated 17 September 2024

To import organic food to the UK:

You must also follow these requirements if you are a ‘first consignee’. This is the first person to receive the imported food.

You may need a certificate of inspection (

Importing organic food from the EU, EEA and Switzerland to Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The UK has separate trade agreements with the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (the European Economic Area, EEA), and Switzerland for organic food.

You must check with your approved UK organic control body to find out what you can import into Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

You do not need a COI to import organic food from these countries to Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

From 1 February 2027, you will need a COI to import organic food from these countries to Great Britain.

Importing organic food from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland to Great Britain

To import organic food from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland into Great Britain, you must:

  • get a GB COI for each consignment
  • check that your exporter’s control body and country or territory of export are on the non-UK organic registers

A consignment is a batch of products that is shipped and handled as one unit. For example, this could be:

  • a container of peas from Kenya
  • 200 tonnes of wheat and 150 tonnes of barley from Canada, shipped on the same boat and handled by the same operator

To get your COI and advice on how to import organic food, contact your approved UK organic control body.

Importing organic food from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland to Northern Ireland

To import organic food from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland to Northern Ireland, you must:

  • check with your control body that the organic food can be imported into Northern Ireland
  • register and be approved by your control body on the EU’s Trade Control and Expert System New Technology (TRACES NT)
  • get an EU COI for each consignment through TRACES NT

Exporting organic food from the UK

To export organic food from the UK:

You may need an export certificate, such as a certificate of inspection (COI), to export organic food. Your control body can tell you when you need an export certificate and how to get one.

Exporting organic food from Great Britain to the EU and EEA

To export organic food to the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (the European Economic Area, EEA), you must:

  1. Register and be approved by your control body on the EU’s Trade Control and Expert System New Technology ().
  2. Get an EU COI for each ‘consignment’ through TRACES NT.
  3. Ask your control body to approve your COI.

A consignment is a batch of products that is shipped and handled as one unit. For example, this could be:

  • a container of peas from Kenya
  • 200 tonnes of wheat and 150 tonnes of barley from Canada, shipped on the same boat and handled by the same operator

If your organic food was originally imported to Great Britain and you want to export it to the EU, you must process it in Great Britain. You cannot just repackage or relabel the food.

Exporting organic food from Great Britain to non-EU and non-EEA countries

Ask your approved UK organic control body for advice on exporting food to non-EU and non-EEA countries.

You may need an export certificate for each consignment to a non-EU country.

To export an organic product that was originally imported to Great Britain, you may need to:

  • further process the food in Great Britain – you may need to do more than repackage or relabel the food
  • meet the country of destination’s labelling requirements

Some food that’s certified as organic in Great Britain is also recognised as organic in the following countries:

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • New Zealand
  • Republic of Korea
  • Switzerland
  • Tunisia
  • United States of America

Exporting organic food from Northern Ireland to the EU and EEA

You do not need a COI to export organic food from Northern Ireland to the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (the EEA).

Read the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) guidance on organic food in Northern Ireland.

Exporting organic food from Northern Ireland to non-EU and non-EEA countries

Find out from your approved UK organic control body if:

  • you can export to a non-EU country
  • you need an export certificate for that country

Moving organic food from Great Britain to Northern Ireland

The government and the EU have agreed the Windsor Framework. You should continue to use this guidance for now. It will be updated in due course, giving you time to prepare for any changes.

EU organic regulations apply in Northern Ireland.

To move organic food from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, you must:

  1. Register and be approved by your control body on the EU’s TRACES NT.
  2. Get an EU COI through TRACES NT – unless you’re using the Scheme for Temporary Agri-food Movements to Northern Ireland (STAMNI).
  3. Ask your approved UK organic control body to approve your COI.

You do not need to pay for a COI. These costs are covered by the Movement Assistance Scheme.

Scheme for Temporary Agri-food Movements to Northern Ireland (STAMNI)

Under the STAMNI, authorised traders can move some organic food without a COI. The scheme is no longer open to new traders.

For more information, check DAERA’s guidance for authorised traders.

Moving organic food from Northern Ireland to Great Britain

You do not need a COI if you’re moving organic food from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.

Returned organic food exported from Great Britain to the EU

The EU may reject organic food you export from Great Britain if it has incorrect paperwork or fails to meet EU organic food regulations.

If your organic food is rejected, the border control post (BCP) will:

  • notify you or your agent
  • ask you to confirm if the food should be destroyed or returned to Great Britain

You’ll need to notify a port health authority (PHA) or your local authority before your organic food arrives back in Great Britain.

You’ll also need to ask the PHA or local authority to check documents including:

  • the original EU COI
  • export or transport documents and any commodity-specific requirements
  • a declaration from the EU BCP describing the reason for refusal of entry

Selling or marketing returned organic food in Great Britain

If you want to sell or market your food as ‘organic’ in Great Britain, you’ll need to complete a returned organic goods application form.

The PHA or local authority will need to check:

  • the original export documents to make sure that the food listed on the application matches the food that was originally exported
  • that this food can be sold or marketed in Great Britain as organic

Get help

Contact your approved UK organic control body if you have any queries.

First published 4 February 2020

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