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Exporting organic products to France

France combines the EU regime with a compulsory national operator register. Notifying Agence BIO is not optional paperwork — without it you cannot market organic product in France at all.

The EU framework that applies

Organic production, labelling and imports across the EU are governed by Regulation (EU) 2018/848, applicable since 1 January 2022, when it replaced Regulation (EC) 834/2007. National authorities administer and enforce it; they do not set their own organic standard.

Processed food may be labelled organic only where at least 95% of its agricultural ingredients by weight are organic, with the remainder drawn from the authorised list in the implementing rules.

What must appear on the label

  • The EU organic logo — the leaf of twelve white stars on green. Compulsory on pre-packaged organic food produced in the EU; optional on imported product.
  • The control body code, placed directly below the logo, in the format XX-BIO-NNN — ISO country code, then BIO or its national-language equivalent, then a three-character reference.
  • The agricultural origin statement below the code: EU Agriculture, non-EU Agriculture or EU/non-EU Agriculture. A country name may be used instead where at least 98% of the agricultural raw material comes from that country.

Getting a consignment in

Every organic consignment entering the EU needs an electronic Certificate of Inspection (COI) issued and endorsed in TRACES NT, under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306. Extracts are used where a consignment is split. The COI is issued in the country of export before the goods leave — it cannot be obtained afterwards.

There are two routes in. Under the compliance regime (Article 46), operators in third countries are certified against EU rules by control bodies the Commission has recognised, listed in Annex II of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2325 and amended by implementing act. Under the older equivalence regime, product may enter from a recognised third country listed in Annex I of the same regulation.

A deadline worth watching. Recognition of the eleven remaining equivalent third countries — Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Tunisia and the United States — together with the Annex II equivalence listings, is set to expire on 31 December 2026.

The Commission has tabled proposal COM(2025) 780 to extend that deadline, but as at the review date of this page it had not been adopted. Anyone sourcing from those eleven origins should confirm the current legal position before contracting for delivery beyond that date.

1) Mandatory organic standards and labels

Regulation (EU) 2018/848 applies directly. INAO (Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité) is the competent authority for organic production; the DGCCRF enforces labelling; Agence BIO runs the national operator register.

French control body codes take the form FR-BIO-NN — for example FR-BIO-01 (Ecocert), FR-BIO-10 (Certipaq), FR-BIO-16 (Certis).

The AB mark

The green and white AB (Agriculture Biologique) logo belongs to the French Ministry of Agriculture and is managed by Agence BIO. It is voluntary, sits alongside the compulsory EU leaf, and its criteria are aligned with the EU regulation. Use requires a licence or notice of use from Agence BIO.

2) Important voluntary standards and labels

  • Demeter France — biodynamic, layered on organic certification.
  • Nature & Progrès — a long-established association mark with participatory guarantee, stricter than the EU baseline.
  • Bio Cohérence — created to hold a standard above the EU regulation after the 2009 harmonisation.
  • Bio Équitable en France — organic combined with fair-trade criteria for French supply chains.

Specialist organic chains (Biocoop, Naturalia, La Vie Claire) often apply their own sourcing rules on top, including origin and seasonality requirements that can matter more than certification.

3) Approved certification and control bodies

Certification is carried out by private control bodies approved by INAO. The list of approved bodies with their FR-BIO codes is published by INAO and by Agence BIO.

A non-EU exporter is certified not by a French body but by a control body recognised by the Commission for its country and product category, listed in Annex II of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2325.

4) Import requirements

Standard EU procedure: an electronic COI in TRACES NT for every consignment, endorsed in the country of export before departure.

The French-specific step. Every operator that produces, processes, imports or markets organic products in France must notify Agence BIO and renew that notification annually. An operator who has not notified cannot lawfully market organic product in France, whatever certification it holds.

Use of the AB mark requires a separate licence or notice of use from Agence BIO. The EU leaf, the control body code and the origin statement remain compulsory regardless.

5) Further information

  • INAOCompetent authority for organic production; approves and supervises the control bodies.
  • Agence BIONational operator register, the AB mark, and the list of approved control bodies.
  • DGCCRFEnforcement of organic labelling and consumer protection rules.
  • Regulation (EU) 2018/848The base act governing organic production, labelling and imports across the EU.
  • European Commission — organic farmingPolicy hub, legislation index and guidance on the import regime.
  • TRACES NTWhere the electronic Certificate of Inspection for every organic consignment is issued and endorsed.
  • Organic Farming Information System (OFIS)Commission database of control bodies and third-country recognitions.

Last reviewed: 2026-09-06