Commission inspections in Argentina and South Africa on the use of banned pesticides on citrus fruit

Question for written answer  E-001488/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Inma Rodríguez-Piñero (S&D), Clara Aguilera (S&D)

The EU’s legislation governing pesticide residues in imported food ensures that the same safety standards apply to all produce, whether grown in the EU or imported from non-EU countries.

Through DG Health and Food Safety’s audit programme for 2021, the Commission plans to check that the legislation of various non-EU countries complies with EU legislation and that their control systems are capable of ensuring that consignments of food exported to the EU meet either the EU’s own plant health requirements or requirements that are recognised as being equivalent to the EU’s own.

We know that these inspections on citrus fruit at source have already been carried out in Argentina and South Africa.

• 1.Can the Commission confirm that citrus fruit inspections in South Africa and Argentina have now finished or does it plan additional ones between now and the end of 2021?
• 2.What are the provisional findings of the citrus fruit inspections, for both oranges and lemons, in South Africa and Argentina, and what is the situation regarding their pesticide control systems?
• 3.How might these findings affect the trade agreement with South Africa, due for re-assessment in October 2021, and the trade agreement with Mercosur?