The French government has confirmed new rules for cereal exports to third countries requiring phosphine treatment and the withdrawal of S-metolachlor plant protection products. The changes come after concerns were raised by the French government and cereal export operators when the French Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health & Safety (Anses) altered the conditions of use for plant protection products intended for cereal storage protection in October 2021.
These new conditions contradicted the requirements of certain destination countries, threatening to disrupt exports to those countries from April 25, 2022. Therefore, Anses has now adapted the marketing authorizations of the manufactured products based on a European provision specifically addressing this situation. The authorization specifies that the direct application of the product to grains can be carried out on cereals intended for export to third countries outside the European Union that require or accept this treatment.
Additionally, the French government confirmed the non-renewal of plant protection products containing S-metolachlor. These products can be used in France until October 2024. The government plans to request the withdrawal of the substance at the European Commission’s next active substances management committee meeting on May 24-25, 2023. This move will ensure uniform rules for using S-metolachlor products across all European farmers and products in the domestic market.
During the International Agriculture Fair held in March 2022, the French government announced a strategic action plan for anticipating the withdrawal of active substances and the development of alternative crop protection techniques. The plan will focus on plant protection products with the most significant technical impasse risks and is part of the ongoing work on ecological planning and the new national strategy on plant protection products and crop protection. This strategy, announced by the Prime Minister, is expected to be finalized in the summer of 2023.
Photo by Stephen Radford on Unsplash
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