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Approval must for production of fertilisers

DUBAI - Saeed Mohammed Al Raghabani, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, has issued a decree banning production, manufacturing, import and distribution of chemical and organic fertilisers and land reclamation materials, which does not comply with the conditions and specifications laid by the government.

The decree No. 214 of year 2004 which came into effect from June 8, amends the ministerial decree No. 94 of year 2003 of the federal law No. 39 of 1992 pertaining to import and production of fertilisers in the UAE.

Under the new decree, the manufacturer of fertilisers, and reclamation materials, should provide a catalogue providing all information - name of the product, trade mark, chemical components, weight of the package, and all other necessary data in Arabic language.

All fertiliser packagings should be closed properly and made from Polypropylene and should not be affected by Ultra Violet rays and decay.

Meanwhile, laboratory analysis should be carried out on all imported fertilisers with two samples submitted to the authority concerned within 24 hours of its entry into the UAE.

The analysis should ensure that the chemical components of fertilisers comply with international standards.

Under the new law, if the owner of the fertiliser consignment who rejects the laboratory test results, can appeal within 15 days to the Assistant Under-Secretary for agricultural Affairs along with the analysis certificate issued by the ministry and a sample.

If the importer fails to comply with the specifications laid down by local authorities, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will inform the authority concerned to take necessary action. If the trader has imported large quantity for commercial purpose, the ministry has the right to return the consignment, or, to destory it on his behalf.

Manufacturing of fertiliser in the UAE cannot be carried out without Ministry's approval. A permit application form should be submitted to the authority concerned, along with approved drawings, copy of permit issued by the Ministry of Industry, and a copy of the approval provided by the authority concerned to the applicants to produce and manufacture fertilisers.

The manufacturing or trade permit should be renewed every year. Each trader should keep a record for five years, sealed by the ministry's stamp with the traders giving the buyer l.P.O including the name of fertilisers, quantity and its chemical components.

While, the import of organic fertiliser should be carried out on its submission of the permit application form to the authority concerned two weeks prior to arrival of the consignment from the country of origin.

The application should include the company name, chemical component, usage, five samples with each sample weighing 1kg, stamp of the manufacturer and a six-month validity of approval from the date of issue.

The importer should submit the trade licence copy to the agricultural quarantine within three days from the arrival of the consignment to UAE, along with agricultural health certificate from the country of origin to prove that the consignment is free from agricultural diseases, in addition to a laboratory certificate clarifying the fertilisers' chemical component.

The customs can only release the fertilisers after receiving approval from the ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to ensure that the samples and its details have been tested by the ministry.

The new law also imposes a ban on advertising of fertilisers without approval of the authorities concerned.