Head of Trade and Economic Section of the European Union delegation to Nigeria, Mr. Filippo Amato has clarified reports that the EU placed a total ban on the importation of agricultural products from Nigeria.
In a statement sent to Thisday, Amato explained that the ban only covers dried beans not all agricultural products from Nigeria.
The statement read “The reason for the import suspension measure of dried beans is that since January 2013 more than 50 rejections have been recorded at the EU border in relation to this product originating from Nigeria, nearly all of them reporting the presence of the unauthorised pesticide dichlorvos at levels largely exceeding the acute reference dose tentatively established by the European Food Safety Authority.
“This represents a rate of rejections of more than 70 per cent of dried beans coming from Nigeria in the last two and a half years. This is why the European Commission considered that the import of this specific product would present a serious risk for human health that could not be addressed satisfactorily by simply continuing to reject further shipments of these products.
“In order to allow the time necessary for Nigeria to provide feedback and to consider the appropriate risk management measures, the suspension of imports of dried beans applies until 30 June 2016. If the European Commission considers that sufficient guarantees have been provided by the Nigerian authorities before the expiry of this deadline, exports of dried beans to the EU can resume as of July 2016.”
Leave a Reply