Saudi Arabia's Environment, Water, and Agriculture Ministry imposed a temporary ban on importing onion from Egypt. Sanad al-Harbi, Director-General of Livestock Risk Assessment Department, said on Thursday the ban came for the purposes of public interest after the results of the analysis of onion samples from Egypt proved to contain pesticide residues at a rate exceeding the limit allowed globally. In April, Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) lifted the ban on imports of Egyptian strawberries and peppers after the Saudi Arabian authorities were informed of the implementation of the new system in accordance with the European requirements, the approved limits for pesticide residues and Codex standards, raising the quality of Egyptian agricultural products, whether for domestic consumption or export. Meanwhile, the SFDA also decided to lift the temporary ban on imports of Egyptian frozen guava to Saudi Arabia. In December 2017, Saudi Arabia banned importing frozen guava from Egypt due to pesticide residues that exceeded global standards. Source: Egypt Today
