Brussels, Belgium
May 7, 2013
This spring, Breeders Trust, based in Brussels, has dealt with a serious blow in illegal trading of grass seeds. Until recently, large quantities of uncertified grass seeds were being imported into the European Union via Bulgaria. For many years, bona fide grass seed companies were unhappy about the fact that Italian rye-grass was being imported via the port of Varna, from where it was distributed throughout Europe. In various southern Member States, the grass seeds were given a new identity with false certificates and were dumped on the European market as certified grass seeds.
Corné van Beers, project manager at Breeders Trust, explains that a visit to the Ministry of Agriculture in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia in the spring of 2012 had a positive result. After thorough analysis, it clearly turned out that Bulgaria was playing a key role in the illegal import and distribution of grass seeds in Western Europe. Thanks to this analysis, Breeders Trust was able to apply pressure and ensure that the Bulgarian authorities exercised more stringent customs control on shipments of grass seeds that were unloaded at the port. The collaboration from the Bulgarian authorities was necessary to achieve optimal enforcement and thus efficiently tackle the illegal importation.
From the statistics it was evident that in recent years the quantities of Italian rye-grass exported from Bulgaria to Italy were becoming increasingly larger (up to approximately 1,200 tons in 2011). From June 2012 onwards the importation of grass seed into Italy from Bulgaria came to an abrupt halt. Consequently, the importation of legal (certified) grass seed from the United States has been stepped up.
It should be noted that livestock farmers in Bulgaria do not sow very much Italian rye-grass for the production of silage. Instead, they sow their own Bulgarian varieties that are suitable and are adapted to the local growing conditions. According to Mr. Van Beers this confirms the hypothesis that mala fide traders have been using the Bulgarian port solely as a transit point for the illegal forwarding of grass seed into Europe.
The quantity of Italian rye-grass (Lolium multiflorum) imported into Bulgaria from the United States & Uruguay increased within the period of a few years to approximately 2,000 tons in 2011, with a commercial value of approximately 1.3 million euro. Following the tighter import controls at the beginning of 2012 the growth stagnated and last year only 175 tons of grass seeds were imported via the port of Varna. Bona fide Italian grass seed traders have responded positively and have stated that, as a result, the Italian grass seed market has become more transparent. Breeders Trust stated that it would continue to do its utmost to track down illegal activities in the grass seed sector.
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