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Articles by Tom Bicknell
APVMA cancels chlorthal-dimethyl registration
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has cancelled registration and use of all products containing chlorthal-dimethyl, also known as Dacthal or DCPA. The cancellation takes effect immediately, and no phase out period applies. Growers and retailers who have the herbicide may continue to hold it until further notice from the APVMA, but must not use it. The use of chlorthal dimethyl as an agricultural chemical product is now illegal.
Notification of intent to continue the vegetable and fresh potato Emergency Plant Pest Response (EPPR) levies to fund future biosecurity responses
2 April 2024 This communication is to notify vegetable and fresh potato levy payers that it is AUSVEG’s intent to keep the vegetable and fresh potato Emergency Plant Pest Response (EPPR) levies active on an on-going basis.
Intent to continue the vegetable and fresh potato EPPR levies
2 April 2024 This communication is to notify vegetable and fresh potato levy payers that it is AUSVEG’s intent to keep the fresh potato and vegetable Emergency Plant Pest Response (EPPR) levies active on an on-going basis.
ATMAC European Study Tour: Fruit Attraction
Some of the ATMAC European Study Tour participants flew into Madrid on Monday, and yesterday attended the Fruit Attraction trade show. Fruit Attraction is one of the largest fresh produce trade shows in the world, and exhibitors at the event had on a display a wide range of new varieties, equipment, packaging and much more.
ATMAC European Study Tour: Sormac and Hessing Supervers
After arriving in Amsterdam late on Wednesday, the ATMAC European Study Tour visited on Thursday processing equipment manufacturer Sormac, as well as Hessing Supervers, one of the largest fresh produce processing facilities in Europe, and arguably the most advanced. Located in Venlo in the Netherlands’ southeast, Sormac’s history goes back more than 100 years.
ATMAC European Study Tour: Wholesale & retail, Fruitnet, Red Tractor
The ATMAC European Study Tour’s final day began before sunrise, with the group visiting London’s New Covent Garden Markets. The group arrived at the markets at 4.30am at the tail end of the night’s trading, which starts at 9pm and runs until dawn.
ATMAC European Study Tour: ADAS and Stourgarden/PG Rix
Setting out from historic university town Cambridge this morning, the ATMAC European Study Group first stopped in at agricultural and environmental research consultancy ADAS, before visiting Stourgarden/PG Rix, one of the UK’s largest onion growers. At ADAS, we got a whistlestop overview of the many areas the researcher is working on. There were two recurrent themes; environmental sustainability and adapting to climate change.
ATMAC European Study Tour 2023 introduction video
“All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go”, as the song says! Follow our journey on this blog as we visit some of the most cutting-edge vegetable operations in Europe.
ATMAC European Study Tour: Barfoots and Nature's Way
On the ATMAC European Study Tour’s penultimate day, we visited Barfoots of Botley, a major grower-processor in Bognor Regis on England’s south coast.  Barfoots is another British grower who has expanded into international sourcing to supply its customers 52 weeks of the year, with a combination of their own farms around the world and a network of contract growers.
ATMAC European Study Tour: Moulton Bulbs, AH Worth, Elsoms Seeds
After flying into Birmingham, the study tour group drove east to Peteborough, where on Monday we visited three local vegetable businesses. First up was Moulton Bulbs, a vertically-integrated allium grower, packer, processer and importer. Our group learned that UK onion production, typically around 450,000 tonnes, has dipped 10% this year in response to tough climatic conditions and a cost of production that’s risen dramatically in the last three years.
ATMAC European Grower Tour 2023
The Australian Trade and Market Access Cooperation (ATMAC) European Study Tour is taking a group of Australian vegetable industry participants, largely growers, to Spain, the Netherlands and the UK to explore compliance and sustainability systems during October 2023. Running over the first two weeks of October 2023, the goal of the tour is understanding compliance and commercial drivers in overseas markets to maximise trade outcomes.
ATMAC European Study Tour: Rabobank, Farm of the Future, Geert Lindenhols
Our third day in the Netherlands took us to both ends of the Dutch agriculture sector spectrum. We started the day at the global head office of food and agribusiness finance specialist Rabobank in Utrecht, meeting with fresh produce sector specialist Lambert van Horen. Lambert took the group through the headline trends Rabobank has been tracking through its global involvement in food and agribusiness.
ATMAC European Study Tour: Tomatoworld
On our final day in the Netherlands we visited Tomatoworld, an education and demonstration site for the Dutch greenhouse sector. The facility is located in Westland, which boasts the world’s largest concentration of greenhouses. The Netherlands is the biggest supplier of high-tech greenhouses in the world, and most of those systems come from the Westland region. Fifty percent of the region’s workforce is employed in the greenhouse sector.
ATMAC European Study Tour: G’s Fresh
Today the ATMAC European Study Tour group visited G’s Fresh, one of the largest growers of fresh vegetables in the UK. G’s Fresh is a third-generation family farm, growing 1.2 billion packs of produce each year on 14,000 hectares across the UK, Spain, the Czech Republic, Senegal and Poland. The business supplies the majority of the UK’s lettuce and celery.
Dubai’s move to oversee stablecoins should ‘bring certainty’ to regulatory grey area
Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) has updated its virtual asset rulebook, adding regulations related to fiat referenced virtual assets (FRVAs). These are designed to keep a fixed value in relation to a traditional currency and are commonly known as stablecoins. The rules separate virtual assets into two categories and apply differing levels of regulation to each.
New Saudi ‘insurtech’ rules will help ‘foster innovation’
SAMA said the ‘insurtech’ rules would give insurance firms that use technology to provide or design their products a flexible regulatory framework to operate in. The rules outline insurtech firms’ obligations on issues like information accuracy. They also include a code of conduct detailing how in-scope firms should deal with customers fairly and not discriminate against clients based on race, gender or other characteristics.
New Saudi payment services rules will bolster international investment Universities
Payment services in Saudi Arabia are specifically regulated under the Law of Payments and Payment Services, which came into effect in February 2022. Now, new implementing regulations have been issued to codify the use of payment products and services in the Kingdom. Barkha Doshi of Pinsent Masons said: “With the significant growth in the financial sector in 2023, the Implementing Regulations come at an exciting time for Saudi Arabia.
Financial institutions urged to comply with UAE virtual assets AML guidance
The CBUAE’s guidance (44-page / 998 KB PDF) for licensed financial institutions on risks related to virtual assets (VAs) and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) will come into force in July 2023. The guidance primarily focuses on risks in relation to money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (CFT).
UAE’s new virtual asset regulations take effect
The SCA, which regulates financial markets in ‘onshore’ UAE, issued its new regulations surrounding virtual asset transactions and service providers. It also officially announced that it will now start receiving license applications from companies wishing to provide virtual asset services. The new Virtual Asset Regulations set out a list of criteria for the ‘accepted virtual assets’ that the SCA will oversee.
UAE ‘leading by example’ with launch of generative AI guide
The aim of the guide (119-page / 7.84MB PDF) is to address the opportunities and challenges presented by the generative AI technology. It sets out the ways in which these rapidly emerging technologies can be leveraged to benefit key sectors including education, healthcare, automotive and media, while also focusing on addressing several important issues in the context of these digital advancements, like data privacy protection, reliability and quality control of AI outputs.
Abu Dhabi Global Market plans private credit fund regime
Details of the proposals have been released in a consultation paper (9-page / 294KB PDF) by the ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA). The regulator is looking to expand the current range of funds available in the ADGM under its existing regulatory framework for collective investment funds to include private credit funds.
Digital currency plan to cement UAE’s reputation as financial hub
The digital dirham would be an electronic version of the cash issued by the Central Bank that could be used for both domestic and cross-border transactions, and would likely be accessed through digital wallets provided by private companies. The announcement comes as more than 100 countries around the world consider whether to develop their own digital currency. Pilot testing for digital currency is currently taking place in Sweden, Russia, China, Ukraine, India, Canada and Turkey.
New international definitions to improve enforcement on digital asset derivative transactions
ISDA’s digital assets derivatives definitions document is designed for use in transactions governed by the ISDA Master Agreement, which is the most widely used master service agreement for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives transactions internationally.
UAE central bank to launch instant payment platform
The volume of cashless and real-time transactions has been soaring in the Emirates, due to the increased use of mobile devices and ecommerce. According to a report on real-time payments by ACI Worldwide, about 28 million real-time transactions were made in the UAE in 2021, and the figure is predicted to grow significantly to 134 million by 2026. Surging demand and changing customer needs have driven the UAE to speed up its financial sector digitalisation and roll out the IPP.
VARA’s FMP licence rollout ‘firm footing’ for growth of UAE virtual assets
Out-Law News | 14 Dec 2022 | 4:48 pm | 1 min. read The rollout of the ‘full market product’ (FMP) regulatory regime for virtual assets by Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) will boost the industry in the United Arab Emirates, according to one legal expert. VARA began supervising Dubai’s virtual asset industry earlier this year, inviting stakeholders to discuss the scope of the virtual asset framework applicable to the industry.
Saudi Arabia establishes its open banking framework
Barkha Doshi of Pinsent Masons, who specialises in technology-driven innovation in financial services in the Middle East for Pinsent Masons, said the move should encourage fintech innovation and improved data-driven services for consumers. Open banking is a concept that is gaining increasing traction globally amongst policymakers, regulators, and financial services firms.
FSRA issues guiding principles on how it will regulate virtual assets in the ADGM
In outlining its intention to take a risk-sensitive approach, the FSRA said there were four “risk drivers” that it will give “heightened focus” to. One concerns the responsibilities of virtual asset custodians, even when they outsource activities to third parties. Another focus will be on firms’ technology and governance controls.
Qatari government consults on new regulations for blockchain technology
According to the National Blockchain Blueprint (23 pages / 1.12MB PDF), blockchain technology can help to build “an innovative and growing IT sector” in Qatar that increases domestic and foreign investment. The blueprint identifies key requirements for blockchain’s development, including the creation of an “efficient regulatory foundation” for the technology, and establishing a “supportive environment for creativity and innovation” in Qatar.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai launch cryptoasset regulatory initiatives
The establishment of VARA means all virtual asset activity in Dubai will be regulated, and those wanting to carry out activity relating to virtual assets will have to be based in the emirate. VARA will have the ability to restrict or suspend licences and activities, as well as issue fines for organisations or individuals violating its rules.
DIFC launches specialised court for digital economy
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts have announced a new specialised court to simplify the settlement process of complex civil and commercial disputes related to the digital economy. Tom Bicknell, financial services expert at Pinsent Masons, said the specialised court “is likely to attract new investors interested in the digital space”.
UAE focuses on consumer protection with new laws
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Central Bank has moved to enhance consumer rights in the field of financial services with a new consumer protection regulation. The principles-based regulation came into force on 31 January. It aims to protect consumers’ interests in their use of any financial product, service and relationship with licensed financial institutions (LFIs).
UAE: new regulations for stored value facilities and cryptoassets
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has continued its development of the regulatory environment for fintech firms with the issuance of new regulations covering stored value facilities and cryptoassets. Stored Value Facilities (SVFs) The UAE Central Bank’s SVF Regulation (85 page / 1.9MB PDF), released in early November 2020, repeals and replaces the 2016 Regulatory Framework for Stored Values and Electronic Payment Systems (SVF Regulations).
DIFC court rules on subject access request to DFSA
Organisations operating in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) have been urged to review the processes they have in place for handling subject access requests (SARs) to avoid challenge by data subjects following a recent ruling of the DIFC courts.
Major overhaul of UAE financial services regulatory framework announced
The powers and responsibilities of the Insurance Authority in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been assumed by the country's Central Bank (CBUAE), and operational and executive powers of the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) transferred to local licensed stock markets, in a major shake-up to the oversight of financial services in the UAE.
DIFC firms face March 2020 economic substance rules deadline
The precise form that the notification must take has still to be clarified, but the DIFC confirmed that financial service providers regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) are among the businesses that will be subject to the notification requirement. The obligation will also apply to non-regulated businesses, which includes branch operators in the DIFC whose businesses might be submitting similar ESR notifications in other jurisdictions.
Bahrain issues new cryptoasset rules
The announcement means the CBB is the latest financial regulator in the Middle East to develop an onshore regulatory framework for cryptoassets. Last year, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) launched its framework to regulate cryptoasset activities, while the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) has approved a plan to regulate ICOs and recognise them as securities.
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