Now that the French are granting a derogation for the use of coated seeds with neonicotinoids, the call for exemption from Germany is also getting stronger. German beet growers like to follow in the footsteps of their French colleagues and warn against unfair competition.
Due to the high aphid pressure, the French Ministry of Agriculture promised beet farmers an emergency permit for neonicotinoids in sugar beet cultivation on Friday. The announcement is causing a stir among European growers. Dirk de Lugt, chairman of Royal Cosun, also said: Boerenbusiness know that with the step of the French an unfair playing field lurks.
Hans-Jörg Gebhard, president of the Sugar Economic Association says in an interview with the German TopAgrar that the decision of the French Ministry of Agriculture shows that the beet growers are in a dead end. "Now that neonicotinoids are no longer available, there is no effective alternative to protect the beets against pests and viruses. There is a risk of significant yield losses and more and more growers will withdraw from beet cultivation."
Waiting for permission
"If the derogation in France is approved by parliament, it will increase the already huge distortion of competition within the EU, at the expense of German growers," Gebhard warns. As the largest sugar beet country, France would be the twelfth of 19 beet-growing member states with a derogation.
Gebhard has urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture not to idly watch this development. "The German sugar industry demands fair play for German beet cultivation."
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