Togo Calls on Organic Producers to Align with Updated European and American Certification Requirements
Wednesday, 13 August 2025 14:38 
(Togo First) - Togo ranks as Africa’s second-leading exporter of organic products to the European Union, trailing only Egypt, according to 2020 European Commission data. The country aims to keep this momentum going by urging stakeholders—especially those working with soya, pineapple, and other key crops—to enhance their practices and meet the new certification standards set by the EU and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The National Association of Soybean Exporters (ANCES-Togo) issued a call on August 11, 2025, in Lomé at a gathering of producers, processors, and exporters. The group must now follow newly introduced European and U.S. NOP standards that increase compliance demands, enforce strict traceability, and raise quality benchmarks. These regulations intend to preserve sustainable access to international markets, particularly Europe’s, within a more competitive global environment.
ANCES-Togo Vice-President Kokou Tewou describes the updated rules as both a challenge and an opportunity, requiring enhanced control mechanisms, exacting technical standards, and improved traceability systems while facilitating entry into higher-value markets. Notably, Badr El Fartass, head of Morocco’s CCPB, points out new limits such as a 2,000-member cap on producer groups and a 5-hectare cultivated plot ceiling for small producers—restrictions that did not exist before.
Togo ranks as the foremost organic produce exporter in West Africa and the continent’s second largest to the EU, but this standing could slip unless producers adapt rapidly. “Operators who want to keep their edge must immediately follow these standards,” Mr. Tewou insisted, highlighting that the matter goes beyond regulations and concerns the long-term viability of Togolese exports.
Esaïe Edoh
