EU leadership called to fight fake pesticides

Date:12-02-2008

Representatives of 17 European countries called on the European Union to take urgent measures to fight the rapid increase of fake and illegal pesticides. At an international conference in Warsaw, 150 participants from European enforcement and control authorities agreed that the problem was increasing in many states, and that coordinated action was needed.

The 2nd International Conference on Counterfeit Plant Protection Products was held in Warsaw on 13 November under the auspices of the Polish Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki, and jointly organised by the Polish State Plant Health, Seed Inspection Service, PIORiN, with the Polish Crop Protection Association (PSOR). The crop protection industry is actively campaigning across Europe against illegal pesticides.

The conference reached 4 concrete conclusions:
1.  Fake pesticides harm farmers, consumers and the environment. Further investigation of the extent and impact of the problem is urgently needed.

2.  The EU and the European Commission must take a proactive ero tolerance approach to fight fake pesticides.

3.  A coordination mechanism should be set up at EU-level (governments, enforcement authorities such as control authorities, police, customs etc) to share information and best practice, and develop common anti-counterfeit activities.

4.   Fighting counterfeit and illegal pesticides must become an integral part of the EU counterfeiting strategy.

The vice-Ministers of the Polish Ministries of Agriculture and Economy emphasized the need to mobilize all stakeholders to improve the effectiveness of anti-counterfeit activities. Representatives of the global and European plant protection industry informed the conference of the latest anti-counterfeit efforts. The conference heard of the explosion of cases of abuse of legitimate parallel trade. Unscrupulous traders and criminal organisations were using the cover of legitimate parallel trade to insert fake, false or illegal substances during repackaging of parallel trade.

Enforcement and senior police officers from Poland, Spain, Lithuania, Romania and Greece set out their national anti-counterfeit activities. Other organisations and countries present included the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the head of the Spanish environmental police SEPRONA, Members of the Polish Parliament, and representatives from Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Lithuania, Switzerland, Slovenia, Spain, Greece, Romania and the United Kingdom. Representatives of the European Commission were invited but not present.

Michal Fogg, head of the Polish Crop Protection Association and conference co-host said: The overwhelming interest from almost all European countries in the issue confirmed what we already knew that the problem is increasing everywhere and that concerted action is urgently needed. We are proud that in Poland we are at the forefront of convincing the appropriate departments and service, and now even countries, to work together to protect farmers, consumers and the environment.