India to leverage South Africa's WTO case to push for relaxation of EU food safety standards

The EU's stringent information norms person importantly constricted India's exports of chilies, tea, basmati rice, milk, poultry, bovine meat, fish, and chemicals.

Championing cause

India plans to champion this origin on with South Africa, fixed Pretoria’s alignment with New Delhi connected assorted nutrient information issues connected planetary platforms.

"It's an important development, and India volition decidedly contention the stringent nutrient information norms imposed connected Indian nutrient items exported to European nations," the archetypal idiosyncratic said.

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Queries emailed to the commerce caput and commerce ministry’s spokesperson remained unanswered astatine property time.

“India indispensable enactment South Africa connected this contented arsenic India’s exports to the EU are acold beneath potential. Supporting South Africa could pave the mode for addressing broader concerns astir the EU's commercialized barriers that impact aggregate exporting countries," said Ajay Srivastava, laminitis of Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

Unfair restriction?

“South Africa believes that the EU's phytosanitary regulations, specifically those concerning the False Codling Moth (an insect), unfairly restrict imports of South African citrus fruits. South Africa argues that the EU's requirements are stricter than indispensable and interruption the planetary commercialized rules acceptable by the World Trade Organization (WTO)," helium said.

“South Africa is challenging the EU regulations arsenic the citrus manufacture is important for South Africa's economy, and these restrictions could bounds their export potential. Also, South Africa apt believes the EU's measures are much stringent than what's scientifically indispensable to power the moth," Srivastava noted.

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The improvement is besides occurring against the backdrop of an India-Pakistan quality implicit the Geographical Indication (GI) registration of Basmati atom successful the European Commission. India's Basmati exports to the EU person steadily accrued implicit the past 3 years. Pakistan's assertion to get a GI tag for its Basmati atom has further strained relations betwixt the 2 neighbours.

Rising exports

According to commerce ministry data, Indian exports of cultivation products to European countries accrued by 18.65% to $3.70 cardinal successful FY24 from $3.12 cardinal successful FY23 and $2.94 cardinal successful FY22.

Similarly, exports of each goods to Europe posted an summation of 1.5% to $98.88 cardinal successful FY24 from $97.45 cardinal successful FY23 and $85.20 cardinal successful FY22.

In effect and vegetables, India exports grapes, pomegranates, mangoes, bananas, oranges, onions, mixed vegetables, potatoes, tomatoes, and greenish chilies to European nations.

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"India is intimately monitoring the concern and volition enactment astatine an due time. Certainly, determination are immoderate sticky issues related to SPS measures that are creating roadblocks successful the export of goods. These issues are being discussed and volition beryllium further deliberated upon during the 8th circular of FTA negotiations acceptable to commencement successful May oregon aboriginal June," 1 of the persons cited supra said.

The European Commission’s spokesperson for commercialized and agriculture, Olof Gill, said, “The EU has strict SPS import rules (which see nutrient information standards) that request to beryllium complied with by each countries exporting to the EU, arsenic good arsenic by EU producers."

Standards successful place

“The nutrient information standards are successful spot to guarantee a precocious level of SPS extortion successful the EU, i.e., to support the information of EU consumers and the accumulation of animals and plants," Gill added.

The EC spokesperson maintained that these rules are not negotiable and they stay successful spot adjacent aft a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) comes into force. In different words, the rules use arsenic to imports from each countries, with oregon without an FTA.

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“In its petition to the WTO submitted connected 24 April, South Africa challenged the EU's prohibition connected the importation of South African citrus effect affected by the fungus 'citrus achromatic spot," a WTO authoritative connection stated.

South Africa claims the EU measurement appears to beryllium inconsistent with assorted provisions of the WTO's statement connected sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPM). 

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Published: 05 May 2024, 05:25 PM IST