The Egyptian government has ordered all strawberry and pepper exporters to register their farms and print all sourcing and export data on their packaging to enable traceability in case problems arise with shipments.

The decision follows a ban on the import of Egyptian oranges, peppers and strawberries by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the past 2 months after health inspectors found consignments from Egypt with unusually high levels of residual farm pesticides.

Also read: Pesticide contamination threatens Egyptian fruit exports to Europe and Saudi Arabia

Egyptian Agriculture Export Council (AEC) Head Abdel Hamid Demerdash said the new labelling requirement is among measures taken to create the necessary conditions to lift the Saudi ban.

Also read: Saudi Arabia bans Egyptian strawberry imports

A successful roll-out of the farm coding system will lead to the establishment of a central registry of exporters of agricultural crops. Such a registry will lay down the rules governing the export of fruits, and certification processes thereof.