Emerging phytosanitary issues in the EU
& the likely Russian market response
Sylvie Mamias
UNION FLEURS Secretary General
Conference: INTERNATIONAL FLOWER INDUSTRY FOCUSES ON SUSTAINABILITY FOR GROWTH
6 June 2013 - IFTEX , Nairobi, Kenya
UNION FLEURS:
Working for the
global flower trade
Promote a favorable trading
environment and level-playing field
conditions through the implementation of
proportionate & uniform regulatory
measures
Facilitate sound, fair and sustainable
competitive conditions
on major markets
Lobbying & advocacy
Circulation of information
Networking
Enhance the visibility of the
floricultural sector towards decisionmakers at EU and international levels
Union Fleurs –
A members-driven organisation
- National
Members in 20
countries
worldwide
All major players
represented – the
Netherlands,
Colombia, Kenya,
Germany, Italy,
Japan, USA etc…
associations of
flower wholesalers
& traders
- Individual
companies
More than 3.000
companies represented
within the membership,
accounting for 80% of
the total value of
worldwide exports of
floriculture products
Union Fleurs Members
ITALY
SWITZERLAND
GERMANY
SPAIN
BELGIUM
AUSTRIA
USA
KENYA
NORWAY
MOROCCO
DENMARK
THE NETHERLANDS
TURKEY
JAPAN
SOUTH AFRICA
COLOMBIA
SWEDEN
ISRAEL
Emerging phytosanitary issues in the EU:
Does it have anything to do with ‘sustainability for growth’ ?
YES!
Appropriate ANTICIPATION, PREVENTION and MANAGEMENT
of phytosanitary issues at the earliest stage and along the
whole supply chain:
• help limit the impact on companies of extra costs for
rejection at EU borders and of unnecessary administrative
burden
• enable optimisation of the costs linked to achieving
compliancewith the requirements of the EU phytosanitary
regulations
•ensure a stable access to export markets in the long-term
and contribute to sustainable market growth under levelplaying field conditions
Phytosanitary issues should therefore be fully integrated in the
RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGY of individual companies and of
the global supply chain.
The need for responsible and duly diligent operators in tackling
phytosanitary issues is vital for the industry but a COLLECTIVE
EFFORT is also required to maximise opportunities, actively
involving as well the authorities at origin and national
organisations.
The efficient management of phytosanitary issues at origin is
evaluated and rewarded by the EU at COUNTRY-LEVEL, not
individual operators.
THE EU PLANT HEALTH REGIME
Current rules applying to imports of plants & plant
products into the EU
Upcoming review of the EU regulatory framework
EUROPHYT notifications: focus on Kenya performance
The EU Plant Health regime
OBJECTIVES:
• Regulate the trade of plants and plant products within the EU as well as
imports from non-EU countries, in accordance with international plant health
standards and obligations
• In order to prevent the introduction and spread of harmful organisms into the
EU territory
BASIC
PRINCIPLES
APPLYING
TO
IMPORTS FROM NON-EU COUNTRIES:
A RISK-BASED APPROACH:

Reduced levels of checks are allowed to
be applied to safe products from safe
origins

100% imported consignments must be
checked at the EU borders

they must be accompanied by a
Phytosanitary certificate issued by the
NPPO of the exporting country
e.g.: Roses from Kenya : 5% checks
Carnations from Kenya: 5% checks

Plant health checks must be carried out
prior to customs clearance (documentary,
identity and plant health inspections)

in order to enable plant health
inspections services to concentrate their
workload on unsafe products from
unsafe origins
The EU Plant Health regime
NEED FOR REFORM & MODERNISATION:
• System in place since 1977 without any review
• New challenges: With the increase and globalisation of trade in
plant products over the last decades and the effects of climate
change, the risk of introducing new pests and diseases has
increased.
• Objective: as far as import of plants from non-EU countries are
concerned, the EU should focus its resources on:
 prevention
a reinforced risk-based approach
Review of the EU Plant
Health regime
Current
legislation
Future
legislation
Directive 2000/29/EC
EU Regulation on
Plant Health
EU Regulation on
Official Controls
•Imports from third countries into the EU
•Intra-EU trade
•Export from the EU to third countries
Review of the EU Plant Health
regime
Main objectives of the review:
• Strike a balance between the need to
protect the EU territory against the
risks of plant pests and the need to
minimize potential distortive effects
on the trade;
• Favor a risk-based approach and risktargeted measures;
• Promote prevention strategies to
tackle phytosanitary issues at the
earliest possible stage and avoid
devastating outbreaks;
• Implement
proportionate
and
uniform phytosanitary rules across
the EU to ensure level-playing field
conditions for operators.
FUTURE EU Regulation on Plant
Health
Main elements of the proposed review :
General:
• Clarified definitions, e.g. plants,
plants for planting, competent
authority, operator, etc.
• Official register of operators
• Clarification
of
operators’
responsibilities
Imports into the EU:
• Stronger
recognition of origin
countries
with
equivalent
phytosanitary measures
• Introduction of temporary measures
concerning risks posed by NEW
plants for planting (quarantine)
Review of the EU Plant
Health regime
FUTURE EU Regulation on Official Controls
proposal to amend Regulation on
Official Controls 882/2004
Food and feed
Animal health
Animal welfare
Specific challenges for floricultural products:
highly perishable
 non-food products
need for quick and flexible procedures
Plant health
Plant
reproductive
material
Residues of
veterinary
medicines
Review of the EU Plant
Health regime
Main objectives of the review:
• Strike a balance between the need to
protect the EU territory against the
risks of plant pests and the need to
minimize potential distortive effects
on the trade;
• Favor a risk-based approach and risktargeted measures;
• Promote prevention strategies to
tackle phytosanitary issues at the
earliest possible stage and avoid
devastating outbreaks;
• Implement
proportionate
and
uniform phytosanitary rules across
the EU to ensure level-playing field
conditions for operators.
FUTURE EU Regulation on Official
Controls
Main elements of the upcoming proposal:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Transparency in the Official Control
results
Cost - based mandatory fees and
charges
Border Control Posts (BCPs) will
replace previous points of entry
Right
of
operators
for
a
supplementary opinion: document
review, second analysis/test
A Common Health Entry Document
(CHED) – fully electronic
Description of specific actions to be
taken by authorities in case of
suspicion and in case of noncompliant consignments
Review of the EU Plant
Health regime
TIMING:

May 2013 : Publication of the proposals
 The
proposals will soon be submitted to the European Parliament and the
Council for the EU for discussion and adoption (could be a lengthy process)
 By
2018: Implementation of the reviewed EU Plant Health regime (timing is
approximate)
EUROPHYT notifications
EUROPHYT: European Network of Plant Health
Information Systems
EUROPHYT facilitates exchange of official
information between plant health services of EU
Member States (including Switzerland), the
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the
European Commission
EUROPHYT database provides an overview of
reported interceptions for plants or plant products
that do not comply with EU legislation
EUROPHYT provides an essential support for
the implementation of preventative measures
by ensuring that the data on risks to plant
health from trade in plants and plant products
is up-to-date and accurate.
EUROPHYT notifications
Notifications of interceptions of plants/plants
products in 2011 - 2012
60
55
54
2011: 410 interceptions
50
47
45
40
37
35
35
33
29
30
30
31
25
28
22
21
15
20
26
20
24
25
27
24
20
14
24
24
16
19
21
2012: 445 interceptions
10
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
2011 (410 interceptions)
Jul
Aug
Sep
2012 (445 interceptions)
Oct
Nov
Dec
EUROPHYT notifications
Type of commodities involved in EUROPHYT
notifications
Others
4
Plant products: Others
2
Other living plants: Others
2
Intended for planting: aquatic plants
6
Intended for planting: ! Others
7
14
4
14
Intended for planting: seeds
2013
Other living plants: leaves
16
15
13 24
Intended for planting: cuttings
17
2
Intended for planting: already planted
4
Intended for planting: not yet planted
2011
44
3
Intended for planting: bonsai
2012
18
29
30
58
Other living plants: cut flowers and branches with foliage
0
50
101
74
218
100
150
Number of interceptions
200
236
250
FOCUS ON KENYA PERFORMANCE
FOCUS ON KENYA PERFORMANCE
FOCUS ON KENYA PERFORMANCE
RUSSIA
RUSSIA
• Huge market growth in terms of cut flowers and pot plants imports over
the last 10 years
• Russia has joined the WTO in 2012 but remains a difficult trade partner
• Should be bound by international regulations, including in the SPS area,
but actually uses them as its advantage
• Since
March 2013, Russia is threatening to introduce an import ban
against EU pot plants due to phytosanitary issues – now postponed 3
times – as long as it does not obtain access to the EU market for its
Siberian pines (newly promoted ‘negative retroactivity concept’)
• Very difficult to plan on stable market access conditions in the long –
term. Political games and power play, not just with the EU.
Thank you for your attention!
info@unionfleurs.org
www.unionfleurs.org
Visit: www.unionfleurs.org