Agricultural Quarantine delegation to visit KSA to discuss lifting ban on Egyptian imports: Officials from Egypt’s Agricultural Quarantine Authority (AQA) and Agricultural Export Council (AEC) are heading to Saudi on 7 March to negotiate with authorities over lifting the Kingdom’s ban on Egyptian crops, AQA boss Ahmed Kamal El Attar tells Al Shorouk. A Saudi delegation is also expected to in Cairo in early March to inspect quality control measures on exported goods. Saudi Arabia had banned imports of Egyptian strawberries, Guava, and peppers over concerns of residual pesticides, prompting several other GCC countries to follow suit. The Agriculture Ministry has since moved to impose stricter regulations on agricultural exports to the GCC.

Inspectors from New Zealand will also be paying us a visit to examine food safety regulations and quality control measures before making a decision on allowing dairy imports. The Agriculture Ministry is in talks with New Zealand’s, Deputy Agriculture Minister Mona Mehrez says, according to Al Borsa.