In 2019 the European Union (EU) established a new regulation (EU 2019/1009) to regulate fertilizers and biostimulants in order to put an end to the ambiguity that brought the regulations on plant protection products and fertilizers together.
The Fertilizer Products Regulation applies from July 16, 2022. The main elements of the new regulation are:
- Opening of the single market for fertilizer products, establishing common standards for safety, labeling and quality requirements for all products marketed throughout the EU.
- Introduction of limit values for toxic contaminants in fertilizer products, ensuring soil protection and reducing health and environmental risks.
- Optional harmonization is maintained, with the manufacturer having the choice between CE marking or application of the new regulation.
Nevertheless, a few months before the new regulation comes into force, there is a scenario of uncertainty. At Kaeltia we have been following this situation very closely and we have found that there is little accessibility to the norms and technical guides, as well as to the standards, which are not clearly defined in order to comply with the requirements of the regulation.
Through our extensive network we have been in contact with more than 20 countries, both notified bodies and governmental authorities, which have corroborated the existence of uncertainty about the next steps to be applied to this new regulation. For our part, we will work hand in hand with accredited laboratories to provide our customers with the necessary tests and, depending on the product category, we will assist in the appropriate evaluation process.
We can mention that there is no doubt about the potential of biostimulants in the agricultural sector and all the benefits that this new regulation can bring, reducing the dependence on critical material, boosting sustainability, supporting precision agriculture, improving the environmental footprint and the efficiency of the marketed product.
We hope that during this year 2022 all the necessary measures can be implemented to be able to proceed with the CE marking of all the fertilizer products that are requested from us.