Agriculture Minister Ezz Eddin Abostait announced on Wednesday that the EU has officially canceled additional inspection tests applied to Egyptian strawberries. The strawberries were subjected to tests after being classified as a high-risk crop by the EU Health and Food Safety Commissioner.
Abostait explained that the member countries of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed voted for lifting Egyptian strawberries from the list of agricultural crops for which additional inspection is applied.
The EU canceled the tests in a decision issued on Tuesday, he said.
The step comes after Egypt applied more safety procedures to maintain the quality of Egyptian agricultural products, consumed domestically and exported, according to Abostait.
Egyptian agricultural exports enjoy a good reputation in various countries of the world said Abostait, pointing out that the Agriculture Ministry is making more effort to introduce Egyptian crops in new international markets.
The European Union decided in December to subject to an increased level of official controls at designated points of entry on Egypt exports of Strawberries (fresh or chilled), and peppers as they contained pesticide residues.
Egypt has recently succeeded in lifting the ban on Egyptian agricultural exports at Kuwait, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia. New markets have also been opened in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and EU countries, according to Agriculture Ministry.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
