99. With the assistance of an ad hoc Working Group on Pesticide Residue Problems in Developing Countries, chaired by Professor R. González (Chile), the Committee examined the referenced documents. Information had been assembled on pesticide residues in food crops exported from developing countries which had given rise to problems at the point of import. The objective was to identify pesticide/commodity combinations which frequently give rise to problems and possible solutions to these problems.
100. The lack of viable alternatives to having Codex MRLs, the shortage of regional and national analytical facilities to conduct supervised trials for establishing MRLs and/or PHIs, along with the scarcity of international information on pesticide surveillance programmes were noted as major impediments to the export from developing countries.
101. The Committee endorsed the following recommendations of the ad hoc Working Group:
- for those pesticides scheduled for evaluation by JMPR, GIFAP should be invited to develop data for the commodities of interest to developing countries, as listed in CX/PR 96/11 and CX/PR 96/11-Add.1;
- JMPR should be invited to consider the possibility of extrapolating residue data to cover minor crops, especially those of interest to developing countries; in this context it was noted that the development of uniform data requirements under consideration by OECD should also include provisions for minor crops, particularly those of interest to developing countries;
- importing countries should be encouraged to inform exporting countries whenever pesticide residue problems occurred, on a government-to-government basis, so as to help the exporting countries become aware of these problems and take steps to resolve them[31];
- the Codex list of MRLs arranged by commodity would be very useful for countries wishing to apply an import inspection programme; and
- attention should be paid to preventive measures to reduce residues, including Integrated Pest Management (IPM), availability of quality pesticides, and training in safe and efficient use as part of IPM. IPM should be taken into account when developing GAP information for JMPR.
Re-establishment of the ad hoc Working Group
102. The Committee agreed that a Working Group should again be convened at its next Session. Noting that Professor González had acted as Chairman for two sessions, Mr. Cheah Uan Boh (Malaysia) was requested to act as its Chairman at the next Session.
