Eradicating export-crop disease is a prerequisite for greater access to European markets. Sherine El-Madany listened in on a recent seminar To avoid facing further bans and to boost agricultural exports to European markets, Egyptian potato and groundnut producers and exporters should be given proper training and technical assistance, said guest speakers in a seminar held recently at Cairo University. "Egyptian farmers and producers of such significant crops need to be informed of contemporary methods of irrigation, packaging, and storage," stated Abdel-Samie Mohamed, PhD candidate at the University of Guelph in Canada. "Moreover, exporters should have easier access to accredited laboratories in charge of sampling analysis to detect diseases and ensure compliance with European Union (EU) regulations and standards," he added. The seminar, organised by the Centre for European Studies, came shortly after the EU imposed bans on Egyptian potato exports due to continual outbreaks of potatoes infected with brown rot, a bacterial disease of no known risk to human health. However, as Gamal Bayoumi, secretary-general of the Arab Investors Union pointed out, if it spread in cultivated land, especially through ground water, brown rot would dramatically reduce production of the crop and leave the land unusable. Bans were also imposed on Egyptian groundnuts due to excessive concentrations of aflatoxin, which as Bayoumi explained is toxic and could endanger human health. As a result, the EU carried out thorough inspections of Egyptian potato and groundnut exports, and after five interceptions of infected exports, Europe ceased to import these crops from Egypt. "Agriculture is a very important segment of Egypt's economy, as it accounts for about 30 per cent of employment and 12 per cent of exports," Mohamed noted adding that, "our economy cannot afford that kind of unanimous punishment because more than 80 per cent of Egyptian potato and groundnut exports are to the EU." Bayoumi then suggested additional solutions that would provide a lifeline to Egypt's agricultural exports. He proposed setting up an early warning system that notifies Egyptian authorities in advance if infected exports approach five interceptions. "That way, after three interceptions, Egypt could have the chance to close down its exports for one year instead of the EU and avoid having bans imposed on its exports," he explained. Furthermore, Bayoumi stressed the importance of employing an authoritative body to safeguard Egypt's exports and suspend those who export infected crops for one year.
