Dangerous pesticides, with active substances linked to the occurrence of cancer and neurological diseases, are illegally traded in the country.

According to the report by Yiannis Souliotis, pesticides are imported into Greece mainly through Turkey and Bulgaria, inside the caches of cars and trucks, while in one case the economic police located a factory in northern Greece that was standardizing and packaging illegal pesticides that had been imported in bulk in Greece.

Several producers – mainly in Northern Greece and Crete – turn to illegal pesticides as they cost less and contain strong active substances, ignoring their dangers. “This year, compared to last year, the Greek authorities have seized twice the amount of 100% illegal pesticides,” Giorgos Varelas, head of the Economic Police of Northern Greece, says to the SKAI camera.

In the last 5 years, the prosecuting and customs authorities have seized 5 tons of illegal pesticides and 10 tons of illegal fertilizers. But what are the active substances that the illegal preparations contain and how dangerous are they for public health?

As explained by Mrs. Eleni Karasali from the Benakeio Phytopathological Institute, there are some substances called nitrosamines which are carcinogenic and which in high concentration can be a problem for public health.

Meanwhile, Moschos Korassidis – Director General of the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives aptly comments on the fact that the E.U. bans the use of certain pesticides while allowing the importation of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of agricultural products from third countries grown with the same – banned active substances. “A Greek producer who grows potatoes has certain norms and these norms mean costs – someone else abroad is using banned pesticides at a lower cost basically so what does he do? creates unfair competition for him” he comments.

In several cases fruit and vegetables from third countries are confiscated at the border as they are found to be contaminated with illegal pesticides, while in six cases Greek products were seized in Spain, Sweden, Romania and the Czech Republic as they were found to contain residues of prohibited substances. “The controls that should be done, at the height that should be done, at the size that should be done, cannot be done with this lack of personnel,” explains the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Geotechnical Civil Servants for the incomplete controls at the borders and not only by the competent levels of the Ministry of Rural Development.