Kenya declares war on FC Moth as it threatens the EU flower and horticultural export market

The Kenyan government and agricultural industry are launching an urgent offensive against a moth that has infested 70 types of crops, from roses to citrus fruits and capsicums, prompting a surge in Kenyan export rejections by the European Union (EU), and an EU review that could now see a growing proportion of the country’s flower and horticultural trade fail. The EU defines the False Coddling Moth (FCM) as a quarantine pest, meaning that fresh produce containing the moth cannot be allowed into the European market. However, random checks of fresh imports from Kenya have found increasing numbers to be FCM-infested, with rose exports, in particular, driving a sharp increase in rejected consignments. As a result, the EU, which in January 2018 began checking one in every 20 rose consignments from Kenya for infestation by the moth, last year lifted that checking rate to one in every 10 consignments. This year’s review of the checking rate may maintain this rate or may now increase it to ...