EU team arriving to check India's pesticide control regime
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2004 03:08:02 AM ]

HYDERABAD: After rejecting several containers of Indian chillies and grapes last year for high-levels of pesticide and other residues of banned chemicals, the European Commission (EU) is deputing a four-member official delegation to check `control regimes’ in place in the country to address such problems.

The delegation will visit states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh and probably a few others from February 16 to 27 to verify systems in place there to address the problems of high-residue levels on grapes and chillies.

The team will inspect the extension office network, government machinery and research labs that are involved in checking the residue levels in chillies and grapes, said sources in Apeda and state horticulture department.

The team will visit several grape farms in Ranga Reddy and chillies fields in Warangal district, before going to Maharashtra , they said adding the visits would be limited to only farms that were involved in exports only.

Recalling last year’s problem, the sources said due to residues of pesticides and other chemicals beyond permissible levels, several EU countries like Belgium and Netherlands had rejected several containers of chillies and grapes imported from India .

The countries requested the Indian exporters either to take back the containers or destroy them. But, following the intervention of the union commerce ministry, the rejected containers were re-directed to Russian markets.

The shocked union government had initiated several measures to ensure that last year’s problems are not repeated. They include educating farmers on what pesticides are to be used and in what quantities, what are the chemicals and pesticides banned by EU, and how to carry out `Good Agricultural Practices.’

We have done everything possible to ensure that our chillies and grapes do not face any residues problems by importers in EU countries. And we fully hope that the EU delegation will also find the same here and get fully satisfied with it, the sources said.