The peach and nectarine contact group, which is made up of government and sectoral organizations -including FEPEX- from the group's member countries (France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal), will meet to analyze the production forecasts for 2023 and the current problems of the sector, such as the lack of phytosanitary products and drought.
The group will discuss the status of the Regulation on the sustainable use of phytosanitary products, which the European Commission presented last June and which proposes a strong reduction in the use of pesticides and fertilizers.
The lack of plant protection products in stone fruit crops across the EU has already been addressed at previous contact group meetings. Last year, the group met online on May 25th and released a report on the sanitary and phytosanitary issues in stone fruit crops. The report described the main pests and diseases affecting this sector and, once again, stressed the difficulty that professionals from the four countries that make up the group have in tackling these pests.
The same situation applies to producers of tomatoes, garlic, grapes… and, in general, to the Community fruit and vegetable sector, as explained at the various contact group meetings held this year. Along these lines, FEPEX considers that the aforementioned draft regulation, which is currently being studied by the European committees involved to give their opinion on the Commission proposal and issue a report, should be withdrawn.
Source: fepex.es