(1)

Article 7 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 of 12 June 2001 on checks on conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables (2) lays down the conditions for the approval of checking operations performed by certain third countries which so request prior to import into the Community.

(2)

On 30 April 2004, the New Zealand authorities sent the Commission a request for the approval of checking operations performed under the responsibility of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) for apples, pears and kiwi fruit. Inspections of apples, pears and kiwi fruit, aiming to determine conformity to the marketing standards are undertaken either by Industry Grade Inspection staff who are audited by NZFSA-recognised auditors, or directly by NZFSA-recognised auditors/inspectors. The request submitted by New Zealand states that the aforementioned inspection bodies have the necessary staff, equipment and facilities to carry out checks, that they use methods equivalent to those referred to in Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 and that the fresh fruit belonging to the aforementioned species exported from New Zealand to the Community meet the Community marketing standards.

(3)

The information sent by the Member States to the Commission shows that, in the period 1997 to 2003, the incidence of non-conformity with marketing standards among imports from New Zealand of fresh fruit and vegetables in general and those species for which the request was submitted in particular was very low.

(4)

Representatives of the New Zealand authorities have participated in international efforts to agree marketing standards for fruit and vegetables within the Working Party on Standardisation of Perishable Produce and Quality Development of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Moreover, New Zealand participates in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Scheme for the Application of International Standards for Fruit and Vegetables.

(5)

Checks on conformity carried out by New Zealand should therefore be approved with effect from the date of implementation of the administrative cooperation procedure provided for in Article 7(8) of Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001.

(6)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,