Sri Lanka is stepping up efforts to promote organic cultivation of fruits and vegetables for the export market in anticipation of upcoming European Union sustainability laws, an official said yesterday.

The EU plans to enforce new regulations requiring exporters to comply with sustainability standards, which will make organic production increasingly important for countries like Sri Lanka to maintain market access.

Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe stated that the EDB has already implemented measures to strengthen organic farming for exports. He highlighted that the global market for organic agricultural products is currently around US$150 billion and is projected to reach US$650 billion by 2034.

Wijesinghe noted that approximately 50 percent of the demand for organic produce will come from EU countries and the United Kingdom. Currently, Sri Lanka has about 20,000 farmers cultivating around 70,000 acres of land organically for export purposes, and plans are in place to expand this under the national action plan for export development.

Organic farming emphasizes natural processes and minimizes the use of synthetic inputs. The European Commission aims to convert 25 percent of EU agricultural land to organic farming by 2030.