Subject: Massive imports of horticultural produce of dubious quality from Turkey
Great concern is being expressed by horticultural growers in Crete and other regions of Greece who, in the midst of the pandemic, are seeing the domestic market being swamped by cheap Turkish horticultural produce of dubious quality.
Between 1 and 23 November 2020,
the RASFF flagged up 26 instances of maximum residue levels (MRLs) being exceeded in fruit and vegetables originating from Turkey, as well as the presence of pesticides prohibited in the EU.
The use of such pesticides constitutes unfair competition for European producers that abide by health and environmental protection standards.
Indeed, EU provisions regarding pesticide residues are intended ensure that the same safety standards apply equally to EU food products and those imported from third countries.
Within the framework of the ‘farm to fork’ strategy, account will be taken of all environmental and health aspects when it comes to the question of importing pesticides no longer authorised in the EU.
After all, the safety of European consumers is a priority.
In view of this:
1. Will the Commission compensate European growers for unfair competition from third countries regarding the use of pesticides and the increased costs they are incurring as a result?
2. Does it have any information regarding the most recent inspections carried out at source in order to control the use of pesticides in the Turkish horticultural sector?
Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski on behalf of the European Commission (9 April 2021)
The EU-27 imported around EUR 2 billion (with a volume of 1.1M tonnes) of fruit and vegetables (F&V) from Turkey in 2019 (1). This volume of imports corresponds to legally imported goods complying with relevant EU rules including phyto-sanitary requirements. Moreover, these imports are also normally subject to ad-valorem duties and, for the most important F&V products, to an entry price system protecting EU farm sales from low import prices, while at the same time ensuring continued EU supplies and market stability.
The EU supports the F&V sector through its market-management scheme which aims, inter-alia, at increasing the competitiveness of the sector thanks to the formation of producer organisations. However, the Commission notes that producer organisations in Greece represent, in terms of turnover, only 7% of the F&V national production, quite below the EU average of almost 50%.
In November 2019, the Commission performed an audit (2) in Turkey in order to review the controls in place for citrus fruit, sweet peppers and pomegranates, commodities most frequently involved in Food and Feed Safety Alerts cases. The weaknesses identified during the audit (3) resulted in five recommendations to the relevant authorities in Turkey. The Commission continues monitoring the situation in this post-audit phase in particular concerning the recommendations and could revert to stricter actions in case of serious and/or long-standing problems.
⋅1∙ Source: Eurostat COMEXT, chapters 07 and 08 of the Common Nomenclature.
⋅2∙ As per Article 120 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council
⋅3∙ Audit report can be found here https://ec.europa.eu/food/audits-analysis/audit_reports/details.cfm?rep_id=4272