German agriculture minister affirms export ban on harmful chemicals

German Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir has reaffirmed the plans of the country's coalition government to ban the export of agricultural chemicals that are harmful to health.
"It is not acceptable that we continue to produce and export pesticides that we have rightly banned in our own country to protect people's health," the politician of the environmentalist Greens told the Funke media group on Sunday.
People everywhere have the same right to health, and this also applies to farmers in other countries, he said.
According to the report, the export ban on certain pesticides is to be regulated by an ordinance under the Plant Protection Act. A draft bill is planned for the end of the year. The regulation is to come into force next year.
Özdemir's ministry did not confirm the timetable.
In their coalition agreement, the centre-left SPD, the Greens and the pro-business FDP agreed to ban the export of certain pesticides that are not authorized in the EU for reasons of health protection.