Quarantine Authority tightens export regulations further with new measures

The Agricultural Quarantine Authority has issued new export regulations that seek to ensure the quality of goods exported from Egypt, Agricultural Exports Council head Abdel Hamid El Demerdash tells Al Borsa. The new directives make it mandatory for strawberry and pepper exporters to obtain signed letters from their respective packaging stations, where state-affiliated inspectors examine their cargo. The new measures are the latest in a string of attempts by the state to tighten inspection procedures, a number of Arab countries issued temporary bans on various Egyptian crops, including guavas, strawberries, peppers, which they said was unsafe for consumption due to high levels of residual pesticides. Earlier this month, the Agriculture Ministry had given inspectors authority to reject whole shipments if a single sample proved contaminated.