2454 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

Evaluation of the Community Plant Health Regime: Final Report
DG SANCO Evaluation Framework Contract Lot 3 (Food Chain)
1,500 palms (and 500 by private) have been cut down in Sicilia (approximately 4,000 being
infested), 2,000 in Campania, 400 in Lazio and 150 in Puglia. The costs for eradication
(cutting and destruction of trees) in the Region of Sicilia amounted to 500,000€ in 2007 and
300,000€ in 2008. Additionally, 400,000€ were spent by the Region on a research project
implemented in the years 2007-2009 209 .
Tuta absoluta
The first outbreak of Tuta absoluta (not listed in Directive 2000/29/EC) appeared in Spain in
2007, as a follow-up to the absence of measures in the importation of tomato fruit from third
countries. Tuta absoluta was not listed (and still is not) on the Directive, despite the fact that
it had been spreading across Latin America for several years before reaching the EU. The
internal trade and movement of vehicles within the EU have been instrumental for its rapid
spread, with the notification of outbreaks of Tuta absoluta in FR, IT, MT, NL, UK, EL, PT,
SL, BG, RO, DE in 2009. The main host plant of this HO is tomato but the pest can also cause
damage to aubergines and ornamental Solanaceae.
Considering that, in the EU, the most important vegetable production by volume is tomatoes
(around 15.3 million tonnes) and that more than 60% of tomato production comes from Italy
(around 6 million tonnes in 2007 – Eurostat) and Spain (around 3.7 million tonnes in 2007 –
Eurostat) 210 , the expected economic consequences associated with the establishment of Tuta
absoluta are important. Furthermore, 66% of total tomato imports in the NL and 38% of total
tomato imports in the UK come from Spain.
The consequences already faced by tomato producers in Spain, as mentioned during the field
visits, are as follows:
Additional costs associated with the treatment of tomatoes: the average additional cost
is €73/ha, of which €55 is for the products and €18 is for 3 hours of labour at €6 each;
Increased tomato handling costs;
Even when pesticide treatment is implemented, losses can still appear (estimated to be
variable but could reach 10%).
Stakeholders in other MS indicated that the US has restricted the imports of tomatoes from
ES, IT and FR as a follow-up to the infestation with Tuta absoluta. NL fear that imports from
their country will also be restricted. They also pointed out the lack of homogeneity in the
control measures (and associated economic losses) imposed on tomato producers in the
infested MS; for instance use of plant protection products in ES (crop destruction imposed at
the beginning and replaced with insecticide treatment once the HO had established) compared
to crop destruction in the NL.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the NL published a PRA of Tuta
absoluta in August 2009. This concluded that the economic consequences of the
209 The source of the data is Santi Longo, University of Catania ―Biologia del punteruolo rosso della palma e
prove di lotta in Sicilia‖, presentation given at the Dies Palmarum, Sanremo, 2008.
210 Greece is also an important producer of tomatoes with around 1.45 million tonnes in 2007.
FCEC 204