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Exporting organic products to Romania

Romania applies the EU regime with an annual national registration step and its own 'ae' mark, which may only be used on Romanian-origin production.

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. The competent authority is the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), through its organic agriculture department, supported by the county agricultural directorates (DAJ). ANSVSA handles veterinary and border checks.

Romanian control body codes take the form RO-ECO-NNN — for example RO-ECO-007, RO-ECO-016. Note the use of ECO rather than BIO.

The 'ae' mark

The green and white 'ae' mark for agricultură ecologică belongs to MADR. It may be applied only to certified Romanian-origin production, alongside the EU leaf and the certifier code. It is not available for imported product.

In Romanian labelling, ecologic, bio and organic are all protected terms and may only be used on certified product.

2) Important voluntary standards and labels

  • Demeter — biodynamic, small but present.
  • Bio Romania — the national organic sector association; membership carries commercial signalling rather than a certification standard.
  • Imported product commonly carries the German, Austrian or Italian association marks, which are what much of the Romanian specialist channel recognises.

Romania is a substantial exporter of organic raw material — cereals, oilseeds, honey — and a comparatively small importer of finished organic product. Retail listings are concentrated in the international chains.

3) Approved certification and control bodies

Certification is carried out by inspection and certification bodies approved by MADR, whose list is published on the ministry's organic pages.

A non-EU exporter is certified by a control body recognised by the Commission under Article 46 for its country and product category, not by a Romanian body.

4) Import requirements

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

The annual registration deadline is the trap. Operators must file a registration form (fișă de înregistrare) with MADR through their county directorate each year, before the campaign deadline. A missed deadline suspends the ability to market organic product for that campaign, and it cannot be cured retrospectively.

Do not plan on using the 'ae' mark for imported goods. The EU leaf, the control body code and the origin statement are the marks available to you.

5) Further information

  • MADRRomanian competent authority; the organic agriculture section holds the list of approved bodies and the registration forms.
  • ANSVSASanitary veterinary and food safety authority; border checks on imported consignments.
  • 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