The Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment said that contrary to what had been claimed, there had been no fraudulent activities on the part of some Maltese exporters.

The ministry said it could say this now that police investigations had been concluded.

Claims have been made that potatoes from Tunisia had been exported to The Netherlands as Maltese produce.

The ministry statement followed another by the Farmers’ Association which called for new control systems, such as an audit trail of potatoes, and inspections at all markets where Maltese potatoes are sold.

The association condemned all attempts which aimed to discredit or endanger the Maltese product.

It is not clear from the two statements if in fact Tunisian potatoes were exported as the Maltese product. The ministry seemed to be excluding that, but the farmers’ association was calling for new systems of control.