Following a period of consultation and negotiation, Defra has published amendments to the EU plant health directive, which will heap further requirements on importers of specified fruit, vegetables and cut flowers from third countries.
The three amendments to the directive, which covers inspections on plants, potatoes, the major fruits -ñ excluding bananas, grape and pineapples ñ and some cut flowers, that are likely to have the most significant impact are:
• Every single consignment of controlled material must be inspected, as opposed to a proportion under the old terms;
• Inspection will now take place pre customs-clearance, when it used to be carried out post-clearance;
• Defra will now be obliged to charge for the work, either at a pre-set EU minimum rate or more likely at a higher cost recovery rate.
Guy Nettleton, senior plant health and seeds inspector at the Plant Health & Seeds Inspectorate (PHSI), the group of inspectors employed by the Department to carry out this work, told the Journal: “Some elements of the amended directive will be very helpful to both us and the industry in general, but some will prove far more challenging to fulfil.
“We recognise that we will only be able to meet them sensibly with the co-operation of the trade.
“The good news is that, although we have agreed on the new directive, it does not have to be implemented until January 1, 2005, giving us the relative luxury of 18 months to work towards implementation.
“I would like to think the industry will think seriously about the issues that could arise and make their voices heard in the next 18 months ñ several FPC members have already talked openly and directly to us and it is better to discuss issues now rather than waiting until 17 of the 18 months have passed to address potential problems.”
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