Eric Poudelet, DG SANCO about the potato export
"Trading with Russia remains extremely difficult"
Not long ago a new proposal was presented to the European Parliament. "We need a new framework, which is more modernised in the area of plant diseases, such as ring rot. This is due to the importance of plant health. To protect growers and consumers. We also have to be wary of diseases on imported potatoes not yet in the EU, and make sure they don't get in. Just like CBS in citrus from South Africa. We want to protect the EU by making the import checks stricter. When plants are imported from the rest of the world, this is usually checked, but not if a 'regular' traveller brings it in. When you arrive at the airports as an individual traveller, all kinds of things are checked, even in the area of meat export, but plants are ignored. This carries risks, so we want to tighten this in the new law. We also want to make travellers more aware of the risks. So far every EU member state has its own 'plant passport'. We want to make that more common and simple as well."
Compensation
Another important point Eric pointed out was that they need more financial support for plant health. "If anything were to happen, like an outbreak, we need to be able to respond quickly. A new disease pops up in the EU every year. Take the kiwi disease for example. We need to be able to respond immediately to combat the disease and to prevent it from spreading. We need money for this, for growers too, as compensation. If you have to destroy a large part of your stock to fight the disease as a grower, they should be compensated for the value of the crops in the future."
GMO
There are various new developments in the area of GMO potatoes, such as resistance to certain diseases or certain climatological conditions. The difference between non-GMO and GMO is no longer so clear. Nowadays, despite the European citizen being against GMOs, around 60 GMOs are allowed in the area of food. But these are mainly intended for animals. Only 1 GMO is permitted for cultivation, the Monsanto 810, for corn. BASF has tried to introduce the GMO potato into Europe, but was unsuccessful.
The topic of wasting food was also on the agenda. Eric emphasised the need to tackle this problem. "If we don't do anything, it will grow to 126 million tonnes in 2020! We need to optimise and check the chain, from grower to consumer. Every part has its own responsibilities. And the THT entry needs to be critically reviewed."
Russia
Russia has had its borders closed to fresh potatoes and planting material since July 2013. Various member states have now received permission to export planting materials. "It is very difficult to discuss and meet with Russia, so negotiations take a lot of time. They often give strange and impossible reasons for preventing the import. This often has a political cause. Russia demands the same phytosanitary guarantees for both fresh potatoes and planting materials. It is still unclear when the trade of consumption apples to Russia will be resumed, but we are doing our best."
Articles about the other speakers during the Europatat Congress on Friday will follow later this week on AGF. Virginie Pernin of GIRA Foodservice and Joeri van den Bergh of Insites Culsulting. Virginie spoke about the future of the food service and the opportunities for the potato sector, and Joeri presented examples and types about the behaviour of the younger generation and how you can best reach this group.