ONIONS FOR EXPORT REGULATIONS *

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 85.03

ONIONS FOR EXPORT REGULATIONS *

17th June, 1958

GOVERNMENT NOTICE 380 of 1958, as amended by Legal Notices 37

of 1968, 37 and 42 of 1969, and 408 of 2007.

The title of these regulations is Onions for Export

Regulations.

Onions intended for export shall be sound, whole, clean,

dry, mature and free from diseases, insects and insect damage; in

addition, they shall be of a round shape typical of the variety and

free from thick necks.

Onions intended for export shall be graded as follows

(a) Exports to countries forming part of the European Free

Trade Association

Grade A - Medium Size

Grade B - Large Size

Grade A onions are those which do not pass through a

square gauge having each side four centimetres long but which pass

through a square gauge having each side seven point five

centimetres long;

Grade B onions are those which do not pass through a

square gauge having each side seven point five centimetres long.

(b) Exports to countries forming part of the European

Economic Community

Grade A - Medium Size

Grade B - Large Size

Grade A onions are those which do not pass through a

square gauge having each side four centimetres or four point five

centimetres long but which pass through a square gauge having

each side six centimetres or six point five centimetres long

respectively;

Grade B onions are those which do not pass through a

square gauge having each side six centimetres or six point five

centimetres long, but which pass through a square gauge having

each side eight centimetres or eight point five centimetres long

respectively.

(c) Exports to any country

Grade C - Small Size

Grade C onions are those which do not pass through a

square gauge having each side three point two centimetres long, but

which pass through a square gauge having each side four

*These Regulations have been repealed by Act XXXIV of 2023.

centimetres long.

No grade C onions shall be exported without the special

permission of the Director of Agriculture who may give such

permission in special cases where it is shown to his satisfaction that

the buyer or consignee wishes to receive grade C onions to meet the

requirements of a special trade or of a special demand.

Onions of different varieties shall not be packed in any one

container.

Onions shall be packed for export in standard containers

which shall be new, each capable of containing one half of a

hundredweight of onions, sufficiently strong to warrant arrival to

their destination in a sound condition and so made as to permit

adequate ventilation of the onions.

(1) Before the inspections provided for in these

Regulations, every container shall be marked on the outside in

indelible and easily visible characters with

(i)

the words "MALTA PRODUCE";

(ii)

the official number of the broker;

(iii)

the word "ONIONS";

(iv)

a design representing the Maltese Cross; and

(v)

the name and/or mark of the exporter.

(2) Moreover, each container of grade B and grade C onions

shall be marked by tying thereto a piece of ribbon not less than

twenty-three centimetres long and coloured red and blue

respectively. No ribbon shall be tied to containers of grade A

onions. A label supplied by the Department of Agriculture has to be

attached by the exporters to each container classifying the grade.

(3) The ribbons shall be obtained from the Department of

Agriculture at cost price.

(4) Every consignment of onions shall be examined by an

inspector of the Department of Agriculture before shipment.

(5) The inspector may, at his discretion, examine all or any one

or more of the containers in any consignment and the contents

thereof

Provided that before he refuses to issue an export licence in

respect of any consignment, he must inspect not less than ten per

centum thereof.

Any consignment approved for export shall be liable to a

new inspection if not shipped within one week of the previous

inspection.

Applications for inspection shall be made to an inspector

or to the Director of Agriculture at least twenty-four hours before

shipment

Provided that applications may also be made within the

said period of twenty-four hours, but in this case the Department of

Agriculture shall not be under any obligation to make the

inspection within the required time.

Every application for inspection shall specify the name of

the exporter, the number of the containers and the description of

their contents, and the destination of the consignment.

No application for inspection shall be considered unless

the onions duly packed in the containers are exhibited in the Potato

Export Control Warehouse or in some other place approved for the

purpose by the Director of Agriculture.

Inspections shall cease half an hour before sunset, unless

otherwise authorised by the Director of Agriculture.

A fee calculated on the basis of €0.005 per container in the

consignment shall be charged for the inspection

Provided that the fee in respect of the inspection of any one

consignment shall not be less than twenty-nine cents (0.29). If a

consignment which is refused for export is subsequently re-

submitted for inspection after re-sorting and/or re-grading the fee

charged for each such subsequent inspection shall be the same as

and shall be additional to that of the initial one.

If a consignment when inspected is found to conform in all

respects with these Regulations and to be fit for export, the

Director of Agriculture shall issue a licence to that effect; such

licence may also be issued by the Controller of Agricultural

Marketing.

Whenever the sealing of containers is required, a further

fee of €0.005 shall be charged for every seal used.

To meet the requirements of any particular trade or of any

special demand the Director of Agriculture may permit the export

of onions which are classified, graded, packed and marked

otherwise than in the manner specified in these Regulations.

(1) The public weigher who weighs onions for export shall

register the weight of every consignment in a serially numbered

book, obtainable from the Department of Agriculture at cost price.

Such books shall be made up of a foil and triplicate counterfoils;

the counterfoil copies of each note of weight shall be delivered on

request to the seller, the purchaser and the broker, if any; the public

weigher shall keep the original.

(2)

Every note of weight shall show

(i) the name and address of the seller;

(ii) the name and address or official number of the

broker, if any;

(iii) the name and address, or business name of the

purchaser;

(iv) the number and nature of the packages in any

consignment;

(v) the weight of the consignment;

(vi) the date of weighing;

(vii)

the net price per qantar as stated by the grower;

and

(viii) the weigher’s signature.

Every such book, with all the foils and the remaining

counterfoils, shall be returned to the Department of Agriculture

before the end of August of each year.

The Board of Reference referred to in article 18 of the

Agricultural Produce (Export) Ordinance shall be composed of the

Di re c t o r of Ag r ic ulture o r a n off icer of the De pa rtment o f

Agriculture acting on his behalf as Chairman and two members to

be chosen from a panel of ten persons engaged in the agricultural

produce export trade. The panel shall be nominated by the Minister

responsible for Agriculture before the beginning of each export

season. On each Board of Reference one of the panel members shall

be selected by the complainant and one by the chairman. No panel

member shall sit on the Board in connection with any produce in

which he has an interest.

A fee at the rate of twelve cents (0.12) per package shall be

deposited with the inspector by the exporter requiring reference to

a Board of Reference, provided that the minimum fee in this

connection shall be six euros and ninety-nine cents (6.99).