Introduction

The BEO is created in 1998. It is a common interest organisation for all EU professional associations in the field of processing, trade and distribution in organic products.. This sub-sector has the responsibility to be present in the discussions and decisions about legislation, certification and control and communication of manufactured organic products in the EU.
BEO creates with her national members common international points of view on important subjects for the organic processing and distribution chain. BEO discuss its international points of view with the EU Commission, the EOCC (EU certifiers), IFOAM and national governments.

Three professional associations from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands join at this moment in the non profit organisation BEO:

• Aoel, the association of processors from Germany, with 40 members who has a total turn-over in organic products of 700 million Euro.
• Probila, the association of distributors and processors from Belgium, with 75 members who has a total turn-over in organic products of 200 million Euro.
• VBP, the association of distributors and processors from the Netherlands, with 73 members who has a total turn-over in organic products of 300 million Euro.

To strengthen the influence of the sub-sector distribution and processing BEO has the ambition to unify all national EU associations of processors and distributors of organic products.