Due to new Indonesian requirements, Ukrainian wheat tests may take up to five days

Indonesia has introduced new phytosanitary requirements for wheat imports, due to which laboratory tests of Ukrainian export batches can last up to five days. This was announced by Deputy Head of the State Service for Food and Consumer Protection Vadym Chaykovsky during AGRO UKRAINE WEEK, the special partner of which this year is UkrAgroConsal.

According to him, the new rules provide for two key requirements.

The first concerns mandatory laboratory control for certain types of bacterial diseases. Previously, the relevant tests for fungal and bacterial diseases were carried out quickly, using the PCR or ELISA method. However, today some test systems for these methods are absent not only in Ukraine, but also on the European continent in general.

“We are actively searching, and currently the only method by which we can test products for Indonesia is biological. So, earlier, tests for fungal and bacterial diseases were carried out within a day or two. Now we can work with a biological method, which increases the duration of the analysis to about five days,” Chaikovsky noted.

The second requirement is related to grain fumigation. The Indonesian side requires disinfection with phosphine using increased doses of the drug. According to Chaikovsky, representatives of the Ukrainian Phytosanitary Association drew attention to the fact that if such doses are used incorrectly, the cargo may be dangerous.

In this regard, Ukraine has appealed to Indonesia through diplomatic channels with a request to review the requirements for fumigation and consider alternative methods, in particular, recycling technology, which was previously used during the supply of Ukrainian grain.

Currently, the Ukrainian side is waiting for an official response.

Chaikovsky stressed that Indonesia remains one of the important and promising markets for Ukrainian wheat, so adapting to the new requirements is important for maintaining supplies.

Tags: Ukraine, export, wheat