Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations, which apply to the United Kingdom, come into force on 1st January 1993.
The Regulations provide for controls on commercial banana ripening operations in order to verify compliance with import restrictions on bananas from the dollar area. The controls are introduced on an interim basis pending the adoption of a Community common organisation of the agricultural market in bananas. They give effect to the obligation in Protocol 5 to the Fourth ACP-EEC Convention (signed in Lome on 15th December 1989) to ensure preferential market access for bananas from ACP states which are traditional suppliers. The Fourth ACP-EEC Convention has been specified as one of the Community Treaties by the European Communities (Definition of Treaties) (Fourth ACP-EEC Convention of Lome) Order 1991 (S.I. 1991/758) under section 1(3) of the European Communities Act 1972 (1972 c. 68).
The Regulations provide for:
the furnishing of information about ripening premises (regulation 3);
the completion, retention and production of certain documents by persons who carry out the commercial ripening of bananas (regulation 4);
inspection of ripening premises and documents relating to bananas (regulation 5).