Agricultural exports from Albania and North Macedonia rejected over pesticides

Authorities in Croatia and Bulgaria have intercepted and ordered the destruction of large quantities of peppers originating from Albania and North Macedonia due to excessive pesticide residues.

In Croatia, 14.7 tons of red peppers from Fier, Albania, were destroyed after testing revealed high levels of the fungicide proquinazid. While proquinazid is permitted for use in vineyards, its use is strictly prohibited in vegetable crops. This follows a similar incident in early September where Albanian peppers were rejected due to acetamiprid levels.

In Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency has ordered the destruction of an additional 9.5 tons of peppers from North Macedonia after laboratory tests detected pesticide residues exceeding maximum allowed limits. This marks the second major seizure from North Macedonia in less than a month, following an 11.6-ton shipment rejected in August for containing formetanate. Total rejected pepper shipments from North Macedonia have now exceeded 21 tons.