2024/04/18

Lifting Ban on Strawberry Exports to Canada

Minister of Trade and Industry Engineer Ahmed Samir declared that the Egyptian Commercial Office in Ottawa has successfully lifted the ban on Egyptian strawberry exports to Canada.

The minister added that the efforts of the Office played a significant role in securing the preliminary approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for importing Egyptian strawberries.

However, Canadian importers must obtain a permit before finalizing the import process. Additionally, Egyptian strawberries must undergo a series of agricultural quarantine procedures to guarantee they are pest-free.

Commercial Attaché and Head of Trade Representation Yahya El Wathiq Billah explained that general import requirements will be applied to Egyptian strawberry exports. This includes the need for strawberries to be commercially produced and the presence of a phytosanitary certificate attached to shipments exported from Egypt, issued 14 days before export. Moreover, the export certificate must be based on the shipment being free of pests in accordance with Canadian rules, including soil, leaves, and plant remains. Import also requires the importing company to obtain a permit from the Canadian agency during the trial period.

The Egyptian Commercial Office in Ottawa highlighted that strawberry exports to Canada will undergo a pilot phase, a standard procedure for fresh strawberry imports from new sources entering the Canadian market.

During this pilot phase, Canadian importers must obtain an import permit. Upon arrival in Canada, 100% of the imported shipments will be subject to inspection by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

The report further stated that the results of the inspection process will be reviewed periodically. The pilot phase will be considered complete once a sufficient number of shipments have been inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and the agency has confirmed that fresh strawberries from Egypt consistently meet the phytosanitary requirements for importation into Canada.

Upon successful completion of the pilot phase, the requirement for obtaining an import permit will be eliminated. Instead, shipments of Egyptian strawberries will be subject to the standard inspection procedures applied to all fresh strawberry imports into Canada.