Exporting organic products to Poland
Poland has no national organic mark at all — only the EU leaf and the PL-EKO code. It is a large organic producer with a small domestic organic market, so most of what it certifies leaves the country.
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. 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. Every pre-packaged organic product produced in the EU must carry the EU organic logo, the control body code directly beneath it, and an agricultural origin statement — EU Agriculture, non-EU Agriculture or EU/non-EU Agriculture.
Every organic consignment entering the EU needs an electronic Certificate of Inspection (COI) issued and endorsed in TRACES NT, in the country of export, before the goods leave. Third-country operators are certified against EU rules by control bodies the Commission has recognised under Article 46.
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 — is set to expire on 31 December 2026. The Commission has tabled a proposal to extend it, but as at the review date of this page it had not been adopted.
1) Mandatory organic standards and labels
Regulation (EU) 2018/848 applies directly, with national implementation under the 2022 organic farming act. The agriculture ministry sets policy, but the competent authority is the Chief Inspector of Agricultural and Food Quality Inspection (IJHARS), who delegates certification tasks and supervises the control bodies. Regional inspectors receive notifications and issue certain derogations.
Polish control body codes take the form PL-EKO-NN — Ekogwarancja (PL-EKO-01), Kiwa COBICO (PL-EKO-03), Biocert Małopolska (PL-EKO-05), PCBC (PL-EKO-06), Bureau Veritas (PL-EKO-12) among about fourteen.
Poland has no state organic logo. The mandatory marks are the EU leaf plus the PL-EKO code. Rolnictwo ekologiczne is the EU-required wording in Polish, not a Polish mark. A private BIO mark owned by the Polish Centre for Testing and Certification exists, is voluntary, and carries no origin restriction.
Misuse of eko or bio, or of the EU logo, carries penalties calculated as a proportion of the gain, subject to a minimum.
2) Important voluntary standards and labels
- Demeter — biodynamic, small.
- Naturland and Bio Suisse — held by Polish producers exporting to German and Swiss buyers, which is where much Polish organic output goes.
- PCBC's BIO mark — the only notable domestic private mark.
The Polish domestic organic market is around 0.6% of food retail — small in relative terms despite the size of the country. Production is weighted towards cereals and fodder, with apples and berries largely exported.
3) Approved certification and control bodies
Certification is carried out by private control bodies authorised by IJHARS and accredited by the Polish Centre for Accreditation under its dedicated organic programme.
A non-EU exporter is certified by a control body recognised by the Commission under Article 46 for its country and product category.
- IJHARS list of certification bodies — gov.pl/web/ijhars
- Information about organic producers — gov.pl/web/ijhars
4) Import requirements
Standard EU procedure: an electronic COI in TRACES NT for every consignment, endorsed in the country of export before departure. No separate Polish import notification beyond the TRACES process was identified.
The notification under the 2022 act is filed through the control body, on a form prescribed by the inspectorate, and then forwarded to the regional inspector. This is a change from the previous act, and the reporting deadlines that circulate in older guidance — 31 January and 31 March — come from legislation that has been repealed.
Poland had close to 25,000 organic operators and 691,000 hectares in 2024, with area up nearly 9% year on year.
5) Further information
- IJHARSThe competent authority: authorises and supervises the control bodies and holds the official lists.
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentPolicy and the 2022 organic farming act.
- 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.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-06