New U.S-Japan Partnership Opens Organic Market Across the Pacific

The United States and Japan formed a partnership this week that will recognize the two organic programs as equivalent. Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, organic products certified in Japan or the U.S. may be sold as organic in either country. The agreement was signed Thursday in Baltimore, Md., during the Natural Products Expo East. The partnership is expected to streamline U.S. access to the growing Japanese organic market while supporting job creation and business growth on a global scale. Organic exports to Japan are currently estimated at $80 million. With the agreement, growth is expected to reach $250 million. Learn more.