New food miles policy to bear down on horticulture sector

Fresh produce exporters could face new hurdles as the European Commission embarks on crafting new policy regulations on the controversial carbon foot prints concept that aims at curbing environmental pollution.

“Stakeholders have proposed further EU schemes particularly in the environmental sphere, such as product of high-nature value farming,” the Commission said in a latest notice to the EU Parliament as well as the economic and social committee.

But in what is expected to cause jitters among players in the local horticulture industry, the commission revealed it would particularly rein in on policies on the management of products shipped in from far flung areas amid concerns that such shipments contributed to global warming.

“The Council has asked the Commission to look at labelling options in the complex area of carbon footprint,” the EC said in its communication.

Though the debate over carbon footprint/food miles concept has gradually fizzled out, the subject in 2007 rattled players in the Kenyan horticulture industry amid concerns that it threatened to lock out local producers from key markets especially in Europe.

Kenyan producers
Proponents of this concept argued that to discourage such threats of environmental degradation, all produce brought in through long haulage should be accorded special cautionary labels such that buyers ‘skipped them’ for locally produced ones.

Kenyan horticulture exporters however responded to the claims and pointed out that their produce was prudently grown under the natural sun unlike those from Europe that were natured under green houses whose emissions are more destructive to the environment.

They went on to launch counteractive campaign dubbed “Grown Under the Sun” that put off helped to silence their carbon foot print critics.

Two years on the debate has once again re-emerged even as the EU worked towards reinforcing its agricultural production and marketing systems to ensure high quality standards.

“The strategic orientations set out in this Communication offer a logical framework for the future policy on agricultural product quality,” the EC said, signalling its resolve to among other things entrench the carbon miles concept into its agricultural management policy.

Local producers, however, vowed to challenge such plans to re-introduce the carbon mile concept saying it lacked a basis for justification. “ We are trying to make a case that the air miles issue should revolve around the complete life cycle of the product and not just the air freight.

Concern raised
We made presentations in Salzburg Austria a month ago and hope that our views will be captured in the negotiations,” Mr Hasit Shah who chairs the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya(FPEAK) told Business Daily.

A recent survey by the Netherlands based Centre for Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) also unearthed concern among European consumers about the carbon footprint of the food they ate.