Africa, Development & Aid, Economy & Trade, Environment, Headlines, Poverty & SDGs, Trade & Investment, Trade and poverty: Facts beyond theory

TRADE-MAURITIUS: Meeting EU Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Norms

Nasseem Ackbarally

PORT LOUIS, Jun 14 2007 (IPS) - Mauritian producers and exporters are slowly adapting to the sanitary and phyto-sanitary norms imposed by the European Union (EU) on fruit, vegetables and fish.

If farmers and exporters want to continue selling their products on the EU market, they have no choice but to adapt to the norms. Some are more upbeat about this than others. ‘‘It is in everybody’s interest,” says Prashant Doshieah, a farmer from Long Mountain village in northern Mauritius.

The Europeans are asking that records be kept for at least two years on how the fruit and vegetables have been cultivated and the inputs that have been used, including the fertilizers and pesticides, he explains.

This can be done. The only problem, he believes, is the cost of certifying that the production of the goods is in compliance with the prescribed norms.

Farmers will have to pay to obtain a certificate from a certifying firm accredited by the EU, according to Sunilduth Busguth, a litchi producer. This negative aspect comes with the positive aspect of farmers having the guarantee that their products will be sold and not left to rot.

Most farmers produce litchis and pineapples on small areas of land, mostly in their backyards, to supply the exporters.

‘‘Unless they regroup themselves into cooperatives or associations in order to reduce production costs and the cost of the certificates, they will not survive,” cautions Teeruthraj Hurdoyal, an exporter.

Dhaneshwar Sarjua, a long-time exporter to the EU, says that unless farmers are certified, they will not be able to export to the EU and Mauritius will to lose foreign exchange. ‘‘If the Europeans are not satisfied, they will buy from other countries like Madagascar and South Africa.”

Hurdoyal agrees: ‘‘We will lose markets in the EU and the volume of our exports will go down.”

To help farmers comply with the regulations, two local institutions, the Agricultural Research and Extension Unit and the Association of Producers and Exporters of Horticultural Products (APEXHOM) are sensitizing them to the EU norms.

APEXHOM introduced a programme to help farmers and exporters adapt to the requirements of good agricultural practices, environmental protection and the welfare of workers.

Raïfa Bundhun, general secretary of APEXHOM, indicates that a project on the minimization and proper elimination of pesticide waste was also implemented with financial assistance from the Small Grants Programme of the United Nations Development Programme’s Global Environment Facility.

It consisted of an inquiry among farmers and institutions into the volume of empty pesticide containers, the types of non-usable pesticides, the collection of pesticide wastes and the training of farmers on good agricultural practices and the use of pesticides.

Pesticide residue tests in water sources were done and brochures, posters and film products were produced with information.

Bundhun raises another concern: that the sanitary and phyto-sanitary norms imposed by the EU are difficult to apply because of lack of investment. Another technical barrier to trade is that the EU wants packaging that satisfies specific norms and which can be recycled.

‘‘That is very difficult for a small country like Mauritius because such packaging is expensive in terms of equipment and technology and having trained people,” she says.

Bundhun contends that Mauritius does not have the scientific capacity to challenge the EU demands. ‘‘We are facing an accomplished fact.”

Mauritius exported fruit and vegetables worth about 65 million US dollars in 2006, representing 11 percent of the total domestic exports of agricultural products of Mauritius.

In the fishing sector, reaching EU norms is a high priority. Nirmala Boodhoo, an official at the fisheries ministry, says Mauritius is committed to developing the seafood industry and to comply with EU regulations regarding food safety.

She mentioned several measures implemented in this regard: the setting up of a one-stop shop in the port area to speed up administrative and operational clearances and the installation of a cold room at the airport to help operators store their goods at the airport prior to export.

‘‘The seafood sector is poised to become a new engine for economic growth in Mauritius. The full exploitation of sea resources and access of fish products to the EU market will help this industry to develop and to establish itself as the third pillar of the island’s economy,” she states.

The island has also enlisted the services of an expert in sanitary and veterinary control from New Zealand, William Marsman, who is working on structures for the certification of fish products destined for the EU market.

The EU is also helping Mauritius and other African countries to comply with the new regulations.

Technicians were sent to the island in May this year to discuss with Mauritians and representatives from fifteen African states the EU’s provisions regarding food safety and the hygienic standards required for the export of fish and fish products to EU markets.

The EU wants high levels of food safety when it comes to handling practices at storage facilities, processing, sanitation procedures, water quality and personal hygiene.

Salvatore Magazzu, who headed the delegation of technicians, at the time denied that the EU has set the bar too high, saying ‘‘our exigencies are those of the EU consumers”.

Alain Lenoir, managing director of Marlin Export, believes that Mauritius has the mechanisms in place to certify that the required conditions, quality control and other norms are being followed for fish products to be exported to EU markets. ‘‘Problems of quality control have been resolved,” he says.

The fishing industry with a processing capacity of 120,000 metric tons contributes about 225 million US dollars to the economy while the 800 fishing vessels that dock at the local ports generate about 160 million US dollars annually.

In 2006, Mauritius exported 80,000 metric tons of fish and fish products valued at about 200 million US dollars. The balance of trade in this sector is positive and stood at about 20 million US dollars.