OTA.COM 25 in many countries, the EU maintains a particularly strong preference for local production, now emphasized in the Farm to Fork Strategy and Organic Action Plan. Additionally, strong negative perceptions among EU consumers surrounding U.S. conventional agriculture and factory farming have spilled into perceptions of U.S. organic goods as well. Moving forward, U.S. organic products will do well to position themselves as the safest and most highly regulated food system in the United States. For Japanese consumers, when asked about whether information on organic standards was accessible and easy to understand, the responses were surprisingly low relative to all other foreign countries surveyed. Organic Trade Association has sought to fill this gap through working with a Japanese PR agency over the last couple of years. In partnership with this firm, OTA has sponsored retail promotions of U.S. organic products in local retail outlets of various sizes, as well as ongoing social media promotions of U.S organic items. Visit OTA’s Japanese language Instagram page to check out the results: https://www.instagram. com/organictradejapan. There is work to do for the USDA organic label to be consumers’ preference overseas, however there is an opportunity for industry to establish a go-to source for information. These strategic implications will inform the ongoing efforts of the trade association to promote USDA-certified organic products overseas, and continue to strengthen the image of USDA-certified organic products abroad. Alexis Carey is OTA’s outgoing Associate Director of International Trade. Read more about her on page 28. Most Countries Trust Their Domestic Seal More than the USDA Seal— But the U.S. Seal is Still Impactful High Trust Neutral Low Trust Don’t Know Trust in Organic Label—International Marketers (Shown: Percent Selected Responses) 47 48 56% 56% 28% 29% 9% 8% 6% 8% 41 55 49% 64% 33% 27% 9% 9% 8% 3% 25 43 41% 56% 40% 28% 16% 13% 3% 3% 31 38 42% 46% 40% 36% 11% 8% 8% 10% 69 71 73% 73% 22% 23% 4% 2% 1% 2% Local Organic Seal Local Organic Seal Local Organic Seal Local Organic Seal Local Organic Seal
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTY1NDIzOQ==