The EU plans to liberalise rules on pesticides used by European farmers, while simultaneously tightening controls on those contained in imports to the bloc, which could drive a major spike in prices. That was the conclusion of a study published on Tuesday (11 August) by the EU’s Joint Research Centre, the commission’s in-house think-tank. The study identified 18 most hazardous active substances not approved in the EU, with MRLs above the LOQ affecting 235 commodities and 86 exporting countries. Under a worst-case scenario, EU consumers would be facing a 332 percent increase in coffee prices and 82 percent for citrus fruit, according to the JRC research. “Across all scenarios, the direction of effects resulting from lowering the MRLs to the LOQ is similar — imports decline, EU production rises, and consumer prices increase,” the study found.