According to the 2013 annual report of the EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO), some 6,639 consignments from third countries were intercepted for non-conformity with EU plant health requirements under the “web-based notification and rapid alert system for plant health interceptions” in the EU and Switzerland (EUROPHYT). EUROPHYT notifications are used by the EC to assess risks to plant health and establish appropriate inspection schedules for each country/commodity combination.

The report states that “about one third of the interceptions were due to the presence of harmful organisms (HO)” – although approximately 30% of each HO identified were the result of documentary problems or non-compliance with packaging requirements. The HOs were “mainly intercepted in consignments of fruit or vegetables (over 70%), followed by cut flowers and planting material.” The report also notes that, since 2009, there has been a “continuous increase in the number of fruit and vegetable consignments intercepted with HO”, and that many consignments are “infested with non-European fruit flies, white flies and Thrips species”.

In 2012–13 “there was a significant increase in interceptions of certain non-regulated products” (Luffa sp. and Trichosanthessp. gourds, peppers, Amaranthussp. and Colocasiasp.), which probably required the extension of EU phytosanitary requirements.

In 2013 intercepted consignments were imported from 158 different third countries, with Kenya, Ghana and Dominican Republic (DR) accounting for 3.2, 2.9 and 2.8% respectively (compared to 11% for Russia, 9% for India, 7.3% for the United States, 6.4% for India and 5.6% for Thailand). The number of interceptions from Kenya declined in 2013, while those from Ghana and the DR continued to increase. The FVO report notes that the “significant increase in HO interceptions… may justify the introduction of further country-specific measures” for DR exporters, among others.

Harmful organism interceptions from ACP countries in 2013

Source: Europhyt 2013 Food and Veterinary Office Annual Report, 2014 (see below)

Kenya also featured in the list of third countries where interceptions took place because of the absence of or improper phytosanitary certificates.

There was a significant increase between 2009 and 2013 of UK’s share in total interceptions of consignments on plant health grounds – up from 6.5% in 2009 to 20.3% of the EU total in 2013. Indeed, between 2009 and 2013, the number of the UK interceptions of imports from third countries resulting from the detection of HOs increased almost fivefold compared to a 33% increase in the EU as whole. According to the report, the UK accounted for “46.3% of the consignments with HO” intercepted in 2013.

The FVO report notes that “for some [member states] the number of notifications on imported goods does not seem to be in proportion to the volume of imports of regulated articles.”