The Polish Ministry of Agriculture has made a significant change in the phytosanitary requirements for the export of potatoes to other EU Member States. This is aimed at the presence of ring rot. At the moment, it is very difficult in practice to export potatoes for the Polish potato sector.
The Ministry of Agriculture in Poland published a draft law on November 12 that contains an important change regarding the bacterium Clavibacter sepedonicus, better known as ring rot. Last month, the ministry announced that it would come up with a new law, which has now actually been prepared.
Indicate areas
The Polish potato sector has long been plagued by the presence of ring rot. Now that the sector is much more professionally organised in the country, and also makes extensive use of certified seed potatoes, the problem has decreased considerably. However, free export to EU member states is still difficult for the Poles. The new law must provide clarity and indicate which areas have a risk of infection and which do not.
When Poland joined the EU in 2004, 22% of potatoes were infected with ring rot. According to EU figures, this percentage has now fallen to 2,8%. This is still higher than in other countries, where the infection rate is below 1%, but it is sufficient to relax the legislation. At the moment, export is only possible if the potatoes have been grown in an officially ring rot-free area and if the batch has been sampled.
More flexible requirements
The proposed amendment relaxes the requirements for the feared bacteria. For example, a cultivation area will be considered free of ring rot after two years instead of three. It is also no longer necessary to take samples annually, but this may be done every other year. Finally, only a sample needs to be tested, regardless of the size of the batch, and no longer a much more substantial part of the batch. For both requirements, the area must first be free of ring rot before it can use the more flexible requirements.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Polish potato sector hope that the export door will be opened sooner. This should have positive consequences for the potato market in the country. In 2022 relaxed the European Union has already increased its import requirements for Polish potatoes, but in practice this has not had much impact because the requirements for export have not been very workable in practice. This may change from next season.