The Government has approved at meeting today the law project on compliance control with the quality requirements for fresh fruit and vegetables.

The document will help harmonize national standards in the field to European standards, increase product quality, protect consumer rights and increase export volumes.

The project regulates the ways to organize and conduct control to determine compliance with quality requirements for fresh fruit and vegetables at different stages of the commercial chain.

The controls will be carried out according to criteria such as the nature of the product, the production period, the country of origin and the date of the last control.

If it is established that the products meet the quality requirements, a certificate of conformity of their quality shall be granted at the request of the economic operator.

The existence of this certificate is a factor minimizing the risk of non-compliance with the quality requirements.

The document will contribute to raising the authority of domestic producers, increasing the competitiveness of products and the export quota of Moldovan products on the European Union market.

The draft also establishes the requirements for checks on the import and export of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Thus, prior to the release of the products, import consignments will be subject to compulsory control (in the absence of an equivalent certificate), and before the export products leave the territory of the country, the control organs will verify whether they meet the quality requirements of the importing country.

The new provisions will help to eliminate unsatisfactory quality products from the market, ensure market transparency and fair competition.

Moreover, compliance with Community quality standards will allow Moldova to request the EU Commission to include in the List of third countries whose conformity checks are recognized as equivalent to EU requirements.