Moscow, 19 September 2024 – X5 Import, a direct importer for X5 Group businesses, announces that it has launched the supply of certified organic bananas to X5 retail chains. The Asociación de Producción Agrícola Ecologica De Banano del Oro, based in El Oro, Ecuador, has become X5 Import’s first certified supplier. The corresponding certificate was awarded at the WorldFood International Food and Drink Exhibition.
The company became the first banana supplier to Russia who has successfully passed a two-phase certification by the RusQuality – Organic certification agency. The certification procedure comprised a desk audit and a production audit by an expert, including sampling and laboratory testing.
X5 Import ran a supplier scouting process to identify suppliers ready to confirm their compliance with organic farming requirements and helped the selected supplier to prepare for and pass the audit. Supplies from the Ecuadorian company are expected to total about 1,600 tonnes of products per year.
The issuance of an organic certificate means that the producer meets all Russian requirements for organic production. In Russia, producers are only allowed to label their products as organic with an official certification mark (a white leaf on a pale-green background) if they have been issued a certificate of conformity by an accredited certification agency.
“X5 Import has been continuously looking for opportunities to supply new and unique products to Russian stores, working to that end with partners across the globe. The partnership with Ecuadorian suppliers will not only expand the supply of bananas to the Company’s stores but also broaden the range of products certified with the Russian quality system, which guarantees that the product has been produced in line with all the requirements for organic goods,” commented Artem Pereslavtsev, Managing Director at X5 Import.
“Back in 2022, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, as the market regulator, sent out a letter to retail chains, warning them against selling organic products that lack a certificate of conformity to the requirements of the Law On Organic Products. We see that the situation has drastically changed since then. RusQuality monitors the market, while retailers only sell certified organic products supplied by both Russian and foreign manufacturers. This is a must if we want to protect consumers from misleading practices and address unfair competition,” said Aleksandr Chumak, Deputy Head of RusQuality.