While these days Egypt has to import food to feed its massive population, it still has surpluses and exports many agricultural products to Europe to the tune of $500 million. Not as big a hard currency earner as, say, hydrocarbons or tourism, but still an important addition to what is otherwise a dismal balance of trade. In addition, the growth of large farms dedicated to agribusiness and exports on land reclaimed from the desert suggests that this number could increase.

"Europe is a big potential market for Egypt," affirmed Anthony Treen, an agricultural expert with the German development organization GTZ which, together with USAID, works with the Ministry of Agriculture to improve the country’s agricultural performance. "Egypt has not filled its quota to the EU at the moment, it wants to expand its exports." The southern Mediterranean fills an important seasonal gap in Europe’s growing cycle placing products from this region in high demand.

This growing agricultural trade could be seriously threatened, however, by the imminent implementation of new, unified EU regulations on pesticide use in crops, changing pesticide Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs). As part of its unification, the European states are looking to harmonize their various different regulations on which pesticides can be used on crops and to what extent. The rules apply both to European countries and any food imports.

The decision to harmonize MRLs was taken in 1991 with the goal of producing a complete list of valid pesticides and their MRLs on various crops and implementing it by 2003. The new list will cut in half the number of allowable pesticides from 800 down to 400, eliminating older and generic brands–precisely the ones developing countries like Egypt use.

The director of Egypt’s Central Laboratory of Residue Analysis of Pesticides and Heavy Metals in Food, Salwa Dogheim, said that one year is just not enough time for Egypt to comply with the new rules. "We need enough time to react to the new regulations and make necessary local adjustments," she declared at an 18 April conference convened in Cairo to address the issue.

The Egyptian agricultural sector is actually in the midst of an ongoing effort to reduce the levels of pesticides used in its crops and produce–something that has been especially successful in terms of cotton. According to Dogheim, regular testing by her internationally accredited lab shows that pesticide levels in Egypt’s fruits and vegetables are also very low.

In 2001, for instance, 84.7 percent of the vegetable samples analyzed were entirely free of any pesticide residues, while of the ones with residues, only 2.5 percent had traces above the established MRLs. In the case of fruits, 68 percent were entirely free of pesticides, while only 3 percent had residues above accepted levels.

"We don’t have a problem, it is quite safe, despite some rumors in the media that aren’t true," Dogheim declared.

While experts admit that pesticide use has become more efficient in recent years, they find the government statistics a bit too good and suggest that perhaps farmers are making sure inspectors get the most pest-free samples possible.

The real problem for Egypt with the new MRLs, however, is not so much the quantity of pesticides being used, but the types. In the past the lists in Europe and elsewhere were negative ones–as in these are the pesticides you can’t use. Now the lists are positive ones detailing only the pesticides you can use. Pesticide manufacturers must submit to the Europeans the toxicological data on their pesticides which is then evaluated and a new MRL is set. If the data for the pesticide is not submitted, its acceptable level is set at the LOD-the limit of detection, in other words, zero.

Pesticide companies of course have been rushing to register their copyrighted pesticides, but no one is bothering to register those pesticides whose patents have expired.

"A lot of the pesticides used [in Egypt] are generic because they are cheaper and out of patent so anyone can manufacture them and that’s why they are cheaper," said Treen. Starting next year, these pesticides cannot appear on anything exported to the EU. "It doesn’t mean that Egypt cannot use those pesticides internally."

Egyptians can try to register these themselves, of course, but they would need access to the necessary toxicological data. This doesn’t really effect the majority of Egypt’s farming sector–which remains for the most part one or two feddan farms that only grow for local consumption and are probably completely unaware of these new regulations. Those who will be affected, however, are the farms recently developed for export.

"No one is going to defend us," declared an irate agribusinessman at the conference. "We cannot export because there is no MRL [for our pesticides]."

Dogheim also spoke out against the new EU regulations calling it "against the [farm] workers" and pointing out that it was different from the current accepted international standard, the Codex Alimentarius. "You are separating the EU from international standards," she said.

Luis Martin Plaza of the Directorate General of Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission, explained that the Codex was outdated and that the EU is "a little bit in front" of international standards. The new MRLs will in some cases be stricter than those of the US Food and Drug Administration. "We are not against the small growers, but we have to have [toxicological] data available, and if the [pesticide] company doesn’t want to invest in minor crop [pesticides], we can’t do anything."

Plaza went on to admit, though, that the EU’s list of acceptable pesticides was not yet complete as the past 12 years has not been sufficient to compile all the necessary data to produce an exhaustive list. He urged growers to submit data for what pesticides they could.

Another option would be to apply to the EU for an emergency waiver that would delay applying these standards to the country. "In my opinion, this is not the best solution," said Doris Gunther of the GTZ–which is looking to help bring Egypt in line with the new European standards. "In the long run it is better to set your priorities and identify where there is really a problem and with which crop-pesticide combinations." Once specific problems are defined, then developing countries can work with EU to address these through technical assistance and cooperation.

Gunther also suggested that these issues can be worked out under the framework of the WTO’s SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) agreement which deals with all aspects of animal and plant regulation.

In the end of course, Egypt does not have too much of a choice over adherence to the regulations. "This will happen whether we want it or not," admitted Dogheim with a certain degree of resignation. Experts maintain that if growers are interested in exporting they are going to have to modify their agricultural practices and bring them in line with Europe’s. On the other hand, according to Plaza, only three other countries (India, Peru, and the Ivory Coast) have even inquired with the EU about the new regulations, so Egypt could be well placed next year if it brings its practices in line.

"There is a tendency in Egypt to look at this sort of thing as a difficulty or hurdle to Egyptian exports. If they could look at this the other way as an opportunity," said Treen. "There are many other countries that will be in a similar situation and if Egypt can get in there first, then it can take other people’s market share. It’s a challenge and an opportunity."

http://www.cairotimes.com/content/archiv06/pesticide.html