LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Biopesticide provider Eden Research announced on Wednesday that its commercial partner, Eastman Chemical Company, has received authorisation for Eden's nematicide formulation, marketed as Cedroz, from the Regulatory Affairs Directorate in Malta.
The AIM-traded firm said Malta was acting as the zonal rapporteur Member State for the Southern EU agricultural zone, and on behalf of a number of EU countries for indoor uses.

It explained that Cedroz is an "innovative and natural" solution, designed to fight nematodes - a species that was known to cause severe damage to crops globally for both open field and greenhouse growers, resulting in yield losses and increasing farmers costs.

Malta had authorised the use of Cedroz on a wide range of crops, including cucumbers, courgettes, melons, aubergine, peppers, tomatoes and strawberries.

In line with consumer demand and a regulatory push for 'safer' products, Eden said Cedroz was an attractive alternative for farmers looking to fight nematodes in an environmentally friendly way.

Unlike many other products, Cedroz left zero residues, and had a zero-day pre-harvest interval, allowing applications right up to harvest, if required.

Following the authorisation by Malta, Eden Research explained that the concerned Member States would need to grant their individual approvals for the sale and use of Cedroz within their jurisdictions.

The pending approvals would cover Spain and Italy for outdoor uses, and would also cover France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, as well as Spain and Italy, for professional greenhouse uses.

Once approved, Cedroz would be the first of Eden's formulations to be sold and used in the United Kingdom, where the company is headquartered.

"Following Eden's initial investment in the formulation of this important product , Eastman has invested significant resource over the past three years in the further development of Cedroz, and it is pleasing to see our collective efforts coming to fruition," said Eden Research chief executive officer Sean Smith.

"Traditional crop protection products are increasingly coming under threat from global regulatory pressures , based upon the potential impact these products may have on the environment.

"There is significant demand for biopesticides as an alternative measure, due to its safe nature and the absence of pesticide residue and we are looking forward to working with Eastman to capitalise on this growing demand and helping them to launch the product in a number of new territories, including the UK."

Smith said the UK imported £5.4bn worth of fruit and vegetables in the first six months of 2018, and had a heavy reliance on the EU for produce.

"Almost a fifth of imports come from Spain, and 11% from the Netherlands.

"Within the UK, the application of Cedroz would help to increase the yield of home-grown products, such as cucumbers and tomatoes, for every day produce."

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