Panama, Nov 20 (EFE) .- Panama today launched a program of public certification of organic food, which makes it one of the few countries in the world that can ensure the organic nature of its products.

The Minister of Agricultural Development, Eduardo Enrique Carles, explained that up to now the organic food certification has been they exclusively carried out private companies, and indicated that Panama joins with this initiative an exclusive group of countries that have their own organic label, such as Spain and Denmark.

The cost of obtaining the organic seal of the Panamanian State, Carles added, is lower than the certification issued by private companies, which will encourage small producers to enter this niche, in addition to offering consumers additional security.

"Organic culture, far from being a fad, is taking hold in the world more and more steps fast, which shows that people worry about what we eat. organic food market, those free of pesticides, sells annually 110,000 million dollars worldwide, mainly in the United States, Europe and Canada, and is planned that will experience a growth of more than 14% until 2021, according to ministry data.

"Organic is not only synonymous with life and health, but also sells," he said. Carles.

There are 2.2 million organic producers in the world, of which 400,000 belong to Latin America. that lead the region in the export of organic agricultural products.

In Panama this type of agricultural production is still a minority, although land dedicated to these crops have grown by 12% in the last decade. entity responsible for issuing organic seals is the Control Authority, which depends on the ministry and which was formally created last January, in collaboration with the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (Aecid).

"The market for organic products does not yet have much demand because the products are more expensive, but it has a large production. This is an innovative project, which has been made through an alliance with the private sector, "said the ambassador of Spain in Panama, Ramón Santos.