EU may ban Ugandan chilli exports
CHILLI coming from Uganda will soon be banned from the European Union (EU), the amount of pesticide residues is far beyond the acceptable level of 0.05 by the EU food authorities.
By Thomas Pere
CHILLI coming from Uganda will soon be banned from the European Union (EU), the amount of pesticide residues is far beyond the acceptable level of 0.05 by the EU food authorities.
“Most farmers spray their chilli with Rocket, a chemical whose active ingredient is Profenofos which is barred in the Ugandan market,†James Kanyije, the managing director of Farm Fresh Produce (FFP), said.
The chemical stays in the chilli after spraying. Banned but commonly used chemicals in the market are Profenofos (Rocket), Dimethoate and Methomex.
Banned chemicals have flooded the market because they are cheap, he said. Famers buy pesticides based on price and availability in the market as opposed to knowledge of what is suitable for their crop, he added.
In November, samples picked from retail units in Belgium indicated high chemical levels of profenofos contents which forced the suppliers to dump their stocks, he said. The EU food authority based in Belgium has now written to other European ports so the Ugandan chilli is not let within their borders.
“It is just a matter of time before it gets banned like our fish. We think it may not exceed February 2010. It would be difficult to re-enter the market,†he said.
Yet chilli accounts for 35% of the amount of fruits and vegetables we export to Europe, that is about 350 tonnes annually,†Kanyije said.
In the absence of an agro-products market regulator, he said, traders will continue to import and manufacture products irrespective of whether they conform to the market conditions.
This will in turn continue to jeopardise our survival in the market, he added. He called on all stakeholders to try and salvage the situation.
“The Ministry of agriculture and Uganda National Bureau of Standards need to intervene,†he said.
According to statistics from Uganda Exports Promotion Board, chilli exports have increased from 103 tonnes to the present 304,000 tonnes earning 580,000 dollars yearly.
In six years, this has been increasing steadily with more farmers entering into the business.
CHILLI coming from Uganda will soon be banned from the European Union (EU), the amount of pesticide residues is far beyond the acceptable level of 0.05 by the EU food authorities.
“Most farmers spray their chilli with Rocket, a chemical whose active ingredient is Profenofos which is barred in the Ugandan market,†James Kanyije, the managing director of Farm Fresh Produce (FFP), said.
The chemical stays in the chilli after spraying. Banned but commonly used chemicals in the market are Profenofos (Rocket), Dimethoate and Methomex.
Banned chemicals have flooded the market because they are cheap, he said. Famers buy pesticides based on price and availability in the market as opposed to knowledge of what is suitable for their crop, he added.
In November, samples picked from retail units in Belgium indicated high chemical levels of profenofos contents which forced the suppliers to dump their stocks, he said. The EU food authority based in Belgium has now written to other European ports so the Ugandan chilli is not let within their borders.
“It is just a matter of time before it gets banned like our fish. We think it may not exceed February 2010. It would be difficult to re-enter the market,†he said.
Yet chilli accounts for 35% of the amount of fruits and vegetables we export to Europe, that is about 350 tonnes annually,†Kanyije said.
In the absence of an agro-products market regulator, he said, traders will continue to import and manufacture products irrespective of whether they conform to the market conditions.
This will in turn continue to jeopardise our survival in the market, he added. He called on all stakeholders to try and salvage the situation.
“The Ministry of agriculture and Uganda National Bureau of Standards need to intervene,†he said.
According to statistics from Uganda Exports Promotion Board, chilli exports have increased from 103 tonnes to the present 304,000 tonnes earning 580,000 dollars yearly.
In six years, this has been increasing steadily with more farmers entering into the business.