From the newspaper SIMERINI of Sunday 17/2/2019
Treasure hunters who "baptize" fruits and vegetables of unknown origin as "Cypriot" - Treasures from the illegal trade
The practice of "Cypriotization" of products is denounced by both agricultural organizations and the Cyprus Potato Trade Council itself.
Immoral practices are followed by clever traders, who hoard from the by-trade of agricultural products. The well-established combina, which generates profits of millions, set up its tentacles in Greece and Cyprus, with victims both producers and consumers themselves.
In a report by "S" on Sunday, February 10, the combina that has been set up in Greece with the "baptism" of potatoes of unknown origin in Cypriot women was revealed. Nevertheless, the issue is not new, as unfair practices of "baptism" or imitation are often observed with regard to agricultural products and especially when it comes to quality products such as the Cypriot potato.
The practice of "Cypriotization" of products is denounced by both agricultural organizations and the Cyprus Potato Trade Council itself. In his statements to "S", the representative of the Association, Christos Papapetrou, complained that in addition to the phenomena of "selling" potatoes of unknown origin in Greece as Cypriot, and the import of fruit from Greece to our country, which then presented to consumers as Cypriot.
According to Mr. Papapetrou, the combine was unveiled at a time when Cypriot fruits remained unavailable, while skilled traders were importing fruits from Greece and selling them as "Cypriots on offer" and at a much more competitive price than domestic products.
Because, he said, the profit margin is large comparing the lower priced Greek and more expensive Cypriot, these traders were speculating by increasing the price of these products - "monkey", so that it is slightly lower and more competitive than the price of Cypriot products and to mislead the consumer.
In fact, Mr. Papapetrou also reported incidents of mixing Cypriot products with inferior quality products of other countries in supermarkets and fruit shops. Such phenomena, he noted, are very common, as it is difficult for an inexperienced consumer to detect them.
However, according to a competent official of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, these illegal practices are carried out individually. In rare cases such phenomena are observed in large supermarkets, which are obliged to observe the product labels. Inspectors of the Ministry are responsible for controlling the quality and origin of agricultural products, who can detect irregularities and distinguish the varieties of products. Nevertheless, regarding the public markets, the change of the existing legislation is expected in order to give more responsibilities to the Ministry of Agriculture, as until today the Ministry of Interior is responsible.
As reported by the Ministry of Agriculture, despite the fact that phenomena of false markings have been recorded on agricultural products, or their mixing with Cypriot ones, however, the new practice which is now followed by large supermarkets is the packaging of products in special packaging with the appropriate marking or their presentation on the counters of supermarkets or fruit boxes in special cartons with special marking of origin instead of the plastics to date. Therefore, it is up to the producer himself to pay more attention to the appearance and presentation of his product but also to the consumer himself to be very cautious when he observes rough markings or mixing of products in the same boxes.
Risks from illegal trade
Moreover, farmers and agricultural organizations make frequent complaints about the existence of an illegal trade circuit in our country. According to the complaints, savvy traders appear to be importing agricultural products from the occupied ones through uncontrolled access points. While the trade in controlled access points under the Green Line Regulation is controlled and concerns products grown in the Turkish Cypriot-occupied areas, the smuggling of goods into the free areas mainly concerns products of unknown origin, which in most cases may come from from Turkey, Egypt or other third countries, for which there may normally be stricter controls on their entry into the consumer basket.
In fact, the President of the Cyprus Potato Trade Council, George Tasos, pointed out the dangers posed by the illegal channeling of agricultural products. He said that this risk is visible both for the consumer and for the agricultural crops themselves. On the one hand, products that enter the free zones illegally do not pass the necessary checks by the competent departments and of course do not meet the standards set by the European Union in the use of pesticides.
On the other hand, there is a high risk, said Mr. Tasou, of transmitting diseases to crops, such as the well-known bacterium Ralstonia Solanacearum, also known as "Brown Rot", one of the most destructive hydrobacteria that affects many species of plants, mainly the potato. The bacterium is on the rise in Egypt and for this reason the trade of products from the specific country in Cyprus and the European Union is regulated and strict controls are set on Egyptian products. A relevant directive (98/57 / EC) was adopted in 1998 by the European Union to protect against the transmission of this disease.
A recent Commission report last July on diseases in the Member States for agricultural products, in particular diseases affecting the potatoes "Ralstonia solanacearum" ("Brown Rot") and Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. Sepedonicus "(" Potato Ring Rot "), it was noted that based on the results of surveys received from 27 Member States and Switzerland, significant research and eradication efforts are being made in the Member States for the two serious diseases.
It is also pointed out that eleven Member States were affected by the "Ring Rot", which was found in both seed potatoes and potatoes consumed in Spain, Poland and Romania. As the Commission points out in its report, the incidence of "Ring Rot" has increased slightly in the potato and is stable for potato seed, with the situation in Romania deteriorating in recent years and cases for both diseases. found in Spain, Germany and Poland.
The Ministry takes measures
According to an official of the Ministry of Agriculture, all the appropriate measures are being taken for the imported products and the controls are exhaustive, especially in relation to third countries with which trade is regulated, such as Egypt. For this reason, he said, similar cases have not been identified in our country, without failing to acknowledge the dangers of illegal marketing in the market of agricultural products that escape the necessary control.
Source: TODAY's Sunday / Marinos Pavlikkas