EU To Lift Ban On Nigeria’s Agric Produce

There are indications that the European Union (EU), is considering reviewing its ban on the Nigeria’s agricultural produce.
This revelation was made in a statement obtained in Port Harcourt on Monday from the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service.
The Coordinating Director of the Agency, Dr. Victor Isegbe, gave the hint in Lagos at a two-day training workshop on plant health inspection and certification of vegetables for exporters and farmers.
He informed that the EU had promised to reverse the ban if necessary measures were put in place before 2019.
Isegbe lamented that EU ban of Nigeria’s beans had a negative effect on the economy, even as he emphasized the need for Nigeria to avoid such rejection of the nation’s agricultural produce in the future.
“We have had issues in the past concerning beans where the EU suspended Nigeria for three years for bean export.
“That is not good for us because it means that all farmers who are producing beans can no more export the quantity that they used to export”, he said.
The good news according to him, is that the EU said if we could put the process in place earlier than 2019,it will reverse its decision.
The Coordinating Director informed that the two-day training was centred on vegetables because it was one of Nigeria’s major export commodities.
He noted that the training became necessary because of the sensitive processes involved in the handling of vegetables, as well as the need for strict monitoring and certification procedures that would sustain its export.
“Vegetable is a delicate product and because it is almost ready to eat, it needs more stringent inspection and certification procedures, since most times, we eat it fresh”, he said.