Vassilis Gounaris: "The Greek sector is a very fragmented market. It has about 600,000 farmers growing 20 major crops and around 1,600 retailer outlets."

President of the Hellenic Crop Protection Association (HCPA) Vassilis Gounaris tells Robert Birkett why he expects the industry to replace many of the products at threat from proposed revisions to EU pesticide rules.

Mr Gounaris is optimistic that the Greek crop protection sector will find solutions to the threat of product losses from the proposed revisions to the EU agrochemical registration Directive (91/414). He accepts that the Greek sector’s major challenge over the next ten years will be coping with the removal of products as a result of the suggested rules and cautions that patience is a necessity when seeking the aid of the Greek authorities in meeting the taxing test. But the HCPA president seems unafraid of change. “Such withdrawals create gaps in the protection of certain crops and they can partly be covered,” he says.

His assurance is despite predictions of heavy losses to the Greek pesticide sector.

“The ongoing EU review of pesticide registrations will have a significant impact on the Greek market, especially due to [the expected] phase-out of soil insecticides and nematicides, and of insecticides for foliar treatment,” he says.

The most severe losses to the industry would likely come in cotton, tobacco, sugar beet, maize, olive, potato and vegetable crops, he says. The HCPA forecasts a loss of €32-81 million ($41-103 million) for cotton, some €400–700 million ($509-891 million) on tobacco, and a similar amount for products used on olives. The price for products used on these crops has fallen by 10-15% since 2003.

The HCPA president says that the Greek sector foresees an extension of IPM as part of the response to new EU rules. “The consumers’ growing demand for certified products gives the best evidence for the extension of IPM in Greece,” Mr Gounaris says. “The increased demand in the last three years has resulted in a 150-200,000 ha crop area cultivated under IPM protocols, while arable crops (wheat, tobacco and cotton) are starting to participate in ICM programmes, and I hope that they will remain involved.”

The HCPA chief notes that all exported products, such as vegetables and fruit, are covered under IPM and ICM protocols.

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The gaps left by product cancellations are expected to be partly filled by remaining products, as well as by the registration of new active ingredients. New products are safer for users, consumers, and the environment, Mr Gounaris points out. “New products are being developed according to the higher standards of the new legislation and are carefully assessed in all relevant sectors,” he says. “Agrochemical companies’ modern ais target specific enzymes in pests, diseases and weeds, presenting low toxicity to non-target organisms.”

These new products will enhance the potential of Greek farmers but also increase possible options they have for different crops by addressing problems in a more efficient way, improving the quality of products produced,” he says. “That will lead to greater financial benefits for them.”

The HCPA chief also notes evidence of safer solutions from new products, such as biological control agents and sexual confusion techniques for insects. He also points to new formulations. “Safer formulation technologies such as wettable granules and bait systems ensure minimal or no solvents are used, while applications of products at fewer grammes per hectare are released into agricultural areas”.

He sounds a warning to the Greek authorities that registration delays would mean reduced competitiveness for Greek agricultural produce, due to a lack of efficient products, but expresses hope here, too. “There are no specific [government] policies focusing on possible gaps in crop protection, but there is new legislation that could have a major impact, reducing approval times..."

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