Interesting trend：Increase in the number of organic products manufactured from waste materials

According to the interview with Peggy Miars, Executive Director, Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), there are 7,256 crops products for the US National Organic Program (NOP). Sixty-four percent of those are crop fertilizers and soil amendments, and 25 percent are pest and disease control products. And then about 11 percent are crop management tools and production aids; these are things like equipment cleaners and insect traps, things that don't have nutrient or pest control claims.

OMRI is a nonprofit organization that evaluates inputs for use in certified organic agricultural operations in the US, Canada, and Mexico. During year 2021, OMRI has received on average 130 initial applications per month, and the total number of OMRI Listed products grows each year between 5 and 10 percent.

Mentioning the current situation, Peggy knows from their inspectors that some manufacturers of inputs haven't actually had production since 2019 due to COVID, and some are being forced to cut back or even stop production because of supply chain issues. So that's a concern because if organic production keeps ramping up, and these input suppliers aren't producing, there could have a potential supply gap in the future.

Similar information shared by CITYMAX, a leading Chinese organic biostimulant supplier, revealed that their orders from the US doubled last year, due to a shortage in the American supply chain. But in the meanwhile, according to the Chinese fertilizer export limitation related influence, some organic input exports slowed down or were delayed for more longer than on previous occasions. Also, the global energy crisis has deepened further, especially in the European region worsened by the winter of 2021. This has made the trends in the entire agricultural market difficult to analyze.

Another interesting trend has seen is an increase in the number of products manufactured from waste materials—things like feather meal, bone meal, and so forth that are left over from other industries. Some data from OMRI website shows, and the #1 search term in the last 30 days was feather meal; it’s a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer (with no phosphorus or potassium) that also has some calcium.

In general, due to the global epidemic and energy crisis, the development of organic input products with an economic value should become more and more popular.