The spokesperson for CC in Congress, Cristina Valido, has requested the appearance of the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, to explain what measures the government intends to implement to strengthen plant health controls at Canarian ports and airports, as well as to prevent pests such as phylloxera, which has been detected in Tenerife.
In her parliamentary initiative, Valido reflects the “alarm” within the quality wine sector following the confirmation of nearly 30 affected strains by this pest. This has prompted the Canary Islands Government to approve urgent measures for its control and eradication, as reported by Coalición Canaria (CC) on Wednesday.
Ports and Airports
Among the measures proposed, the autonomous government has requested a strengthening of controls at Border Inspection Posts (PIF). The Ministry of Agriculture has indicated that the pest may be linked to imports that arrived by sea.
According to Valido’s statement, this suggests “deficiencies” exist in the controls for incoming goods at ports and airports within the archipelago.
Strategic Crops
The nationalist spokesperson has warned that this situation increases the risk of pest entry affecting strategic crops vital to the Canarian economy. She emphasised that “while our local products must overcome multiple obstacles to export, goods from third countries continue to arrive, sometimes produced with substances banned in Spain, without undergoing equivalent checks.”
The MP also noted that this highlights “an already known problem in Canarias.”
Questions to the Ministry
Additionally, Valido has registered a parliamentary question for written response from the Ministry, inquiring about the controls “currently being performed at the Canarian ports and airports concerning plant health inspections to prevent the entry of pests and invasive species.”
In this regard, she also queried the human and material resources allocated to the inspection effort at the PIF and the additional measures the Ministry plans to implement “to support the Canarian actions against phylloxera and other pests.”
