The hazelnut sector has it across the throat. The Constitutional Council censored Thursday the most disputed provision of the DUPLomb law, which provided for the reintroduction under the conditions of acetamipride, a prohibited pesticide of the family of neonicotinoids, judged by the wise men contrary to the environment charter.
This decision “constitutes in the state, without compensatory measure, a blow which will be fatal to the Hazelnut de France sector”, estimates this Friday the representatives of the sector, which recall that this product is authorized within the other countries of the European Union, in particular Italy and Spain, two other large producers of hazelnuts.
This neonicotinoid is used to protect the hazelnut harvests from pest attacks, including the hazelnut worm, or banish, but also the diabolical bug. In 2024, “On an expected harvest of 13,000 tonnes, our producers were only able to harvest 6,500 tonnes of fruit”, because of the attacks of these pests, alerted Jean-Luc Reigne, director of the Unicoque cooperative, (90 % of French production), based in Lot-et-Garonne.
France, the fourth global consumer
By maintaining, with the prohibition of this pesticide, “the French citizen will no longer have any choice and will be forced to consume 100 % imported hazelnuts without guarantee of traceability and safety, and themselves protected by phytosanitary products prohibited on French and European territory, including acetamipride”, points Jean-Luc Reigne this Friday. “This decision ruins our efforts to develop in France productions that protect French consumers and the environment, and it condemns the French sector even when it is currently the most advanced in the world in terms of ecological transition. »»
The Hazelnut de France sector notably stresses that Italy, a member of the European Union, “obtained authorization to use this product until 2033” and that Turkey, which represents 70 % of the world’s hazelnut production, does not deprive itself of it either. These two countries are the main hazelnut suppliers in France, the third world consumer with around 50,000 tonnes per year, of which around 10 % provided by local production. With an average of 12,000 tonnes products per year, the French sector provides 1 % of global consumption, and markets its 55 % export production, mainly in Europe.
Producers want five -year authorization “in order to ensure the ecological transition of the sector”
The director of Unicoque therefore points to an “inequality of treatment to work in front of other countries of the European Union, knowing that the pest of the diabolical punishment has been in exceptional development for two to three years, and that we do not have, for the moment, the other means to fight against. »»
The Boards of Directors of Unicoque and the ANPN (National Association of Hazelnut Producers) are now demanding “compensatory measures”. They want in particular “the compensation of the 45 million euros lost by the sector for the last four years of production”, a “sustainable support of 20 million euros per year for the sector”, and “the deposit of a bill specifying the authorization of acetamipride” against the banish and the diabolical bug, “for five years in order to ensure the ecological transition of our sector”. “We need a little time to develop alternatives” insists Jean-Luc Reigne.
The Constitutional Council says that the reintroduction, under conditions, of the acetamipride, prohibited in France since 2018, “was not yet framed enough on the duration, or on the list of sectors”, recognized on RMC the Senator LR Laurent Duplomb, whose law has been the subject of a petition requiring its repeal, signed by more than 2.1 million opponents. This one did not exclude Friday to present a new text to reintroduce the disputed acetamipride pesticides, but this time taking into account the criteria imposed by the wise men.
