Spain has ramped up pressure on the European Union to defend the interests of its fruit and vegetable producers. In a meeting of the Joint Hispano-Franco-Italian Committee on Fruits and Vegetables held in Rome on Tuesday, Fepex laid out a series of demands, including tighter controls on the EU’s Entry Price System, an easing on restrictions on pesticide use and improvements in the EU’s management crisis policy.
One of the key demands was for the new EU entry price system for fresh fruits and vegetables, due to come into force on 1 October 2014, to be rigorously applied in order to ensure its efficacy. Fepex which was representing the country at the meeting, said the current system was ineffective as it failed to prevent countries such as Morocco from selling large volumes of produce in the EU at prices below the minimum entry price established by the EU-Morocco Association Agreement.
The new system, which has been fiercely contested by the North African country, is designed to bring greater transparency to imports and prevent countries from avoiding paying import duties.
Fepex also complained that EU restrictions on the use of a number of pesticides was curtailing the competitiveness of producers and distorting the market. It called for the creation of a phytosanitary working group made up of the plant health authorities in the three countries to study the situation and come up with possible solutions.
