The Criminal Office of Financial Administration (KÚFS), with the professional support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic (MPRV SR) and in cooperation with the plant inspectors of the Central Agricultural Testing and Inspection Institute of Bratislava has investigated several cases related to illegal imports of phytosanitary products, for which Agrorezort warns against the purchase of such products and advises what to do with suspicious offers in the market.

Phytosanitary products were seized that violated the import ban from the territory of third countries and were not authorized in the Slovak Republic in accordance with the applicable legislation. In many cases, they contained substances that are banned in the European Union due to the risk to human health and the environment. The products were destined for the black market of Slovak farmers.

Samples of the seized products were taken for later testing in the laboratories of the Central Institute for Agricultural Testing and Inspection in Bratislava (ÚKSÚP), while it was found that they are phytosanitary products containing unapproved active substances or containing another active substance than declared on the label. preparation. Some of the seized phytosanitary products were counterfeits that infringed the trademarks of foreign producers. All seized products were confiscated by the courts of the Slovak Republic for the protection of human security and will be subject to liquidation by the corresponding customs office. So far, more than 5,000 liters of these preparations have been seized.

The latest serious case is the interception of a shipment of illegal plant protection products containing a total of 3,300 liters of the active substance acetochlor, which has been banned in the EU since 2011. Acetochlor is a substance on the list of subject chemicals to the export notification procedure as a hazardous chemical subject to a strict regime. The products were found to be theft from a shipment of products manufactured in an EU Member State for export to Ukraine. The value of the seized merchandise containing acetochlor was estimated at 42,900 euros.

In this context, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Slovak Republic draws the attention of users of plant protection products to the high risk of buying illegal products, since their origin is unknown and, therefore, they may represent a risk for treated plants, as well as for human health and the environment.

For precautionary reasons, we encourage growers to follow the current List of authorized plant protection products and plant protection products authorized for parallel trade (the so-called Green Book), which is published on the website of the Central Institute for Agricultural Testing and Inspection in Bratislava , when buying phytosanitary products.

At the same time, ÚKSÚP operates a public web application for phytosanitary products and auxiliary products called "Information system for phytosanitary products" (ISPOR).

When purchasing plant protection products, we recommend that our suppliers request an authorization decision number or an authorization decision number for parallel trade of the products offered. We recommend buying products from reliable suppliers ("know your supplier" principle). At the same time, please note that the description of the products on the packaging may differ from the description of the products in the accompanying and billing documents.

In case of suspicion of illegality of the preparations, it is necessary to immediately contact the corresponding phyto-inspector in each region.