Bio-Briefs

Navip goes natural

• Navip was the biggest exporter of wine in the former Yugoslavia, with operations throughout the country including Croatia and Macedonia. Today it continues to harvest some 2,000 hectares of vineyards, producing over two million tons of wine yearly.

  With no exports since 1991 because of sanctions, however, tough economics gave rise to environmental protection coupled with high quality as a marketing idea, and bio-wine. Bio-wine work started in 1994, but it was difficult to convince Navip to try the new idea, said Navip employee Vesna Robotic, because conventional pesticides had to be replaced by something. That something became organic sprays, produced by Subotica-based Biolabor, which they tested on one hectare of grapes.

  "The grapes were excellent," said Robotic. And they were mould-free, unlike conventionally grown grapes. But more work and costs were involved, as organic protection needed application seven times compared with only three times for conventional. In 1995, bad weather increased the number of applications to 11 times. Nonetheless, after inspections by the Terra's Natural Food Association, Navip went on to make 5,000 litres of white dry Riesling wine. Fears held that the taste would be affected by ingredients, such as onions, in the natural sprays, but fears proved wrong. The 5,000 litres sold out at double the price of conventional wine.

  With three hectares now in organic conversion, Navip will have 90,000 litres of bio-wine soon and 180,000 litres next year. As for the IFOAM conference held in Subotica this summer, "it was nice to meet up with fellow Yugoslavian colleagues again," said Robotic.

Eco-Rural, Romania

• To get a Produs Organic label for your organic goods in Romania, inspections have to be made of the natural conditions for production, including the soil and climate, the technologies used in production and the final produce itself.

  The label is then granted to you by Eco-Rural, the only IFOAM member in Romania with some 85 of its own members country-wide. With help from both IFOAM and Hungarian Biokultura, Eco-Rural learned how to inspect and certify through IFOAM international guidelines. International acceptance of Romanian labels and certificates should happen soon, says Eco-Rural president Mateiu Codreanu. "But organic food production is still more of a hobby than a business in Romania," he says, pointing to the small quantities and low diversity of wines, honey and fruits now produced. Organic production isn't getting any more popular either, with prices usually double those of conventional produce.