Press reports around the world
claiming that the European
Union (EU) intends to place a
ban on SA citrus fruit exports
to that destination because of
the dreaded ‘black spot’ are
utterly untrue, according to
Justin Chadwick, CEO of the
Citrus Growers’ Association
(CGA).
And such a ban would
challenge one of SA’s larger
export sectors. About 70%
of the EU’s citrus needs
comes from this country.
And, according to the SA
ambassador
to Belgium
Mxolisi Nkosi,
global exports
contribute
about
R6 billion
to SA’s gross
domestic
product
(GDP).
“But the
word ‘ban’
has never
been used by the European
authorities,” Chadwick told
FTW. “All they intend to
do is to include additional
requirements, like inspection
and testing at the SA end of the
chain, in their phytosanitary
regulations related to citrus
fruits.”
Indeed, these new
requirements were already
presented to the EU member
states for comment at the end
of April, and the southern
nations (including Spain,
Europe’s largest citrus grower)
have blocked this proposal.
“They felt that it didn’t go far
enough,” Chadwick added, “so it
will now be on
the standing
committee on
plant health
(SCPH) agenda
for the end-
May meeting.”
This follows
the EU having
originally
declared citrus black spot (CBS)
a phytosanitary measure in
1993. What this meant was
that it was included in a trade
watch-list at EU borders.
If any infected fruit was
found in a consignment, then
that consignment would be
impounded. This only reduced
the size of citrus shipments
entering the EU, and in no way
led to a total ban.
But recently SA’s black
spot has certainly caused
considerable furore.
It is various European
farmers’ groups, like lobbygroup
Copa-Cogeca and
Spanish young farmers’
association Asaja, that have
called on the 28-nation bloc
to tighten controls on citrus
imports from SA. And it was
these EU citrus growers who
last November coined the use of
the word ‘ban’. They demanded
that the bloc take immediate
“drastic measures” to ward off
black spot – such as a ban on
imports from SA.
And, in a letter to EU
health commissioner Tonio
Borg, Copa-Cogeca secretarygeneral
Pekka Pesonen wrote
that imports from zones with
black spot disease should be
automatically banned the
moment six contaminated
cargoes were intercepted.
But, although the EU has
taken note of this proposal,
there have been no reports of it
taking any such action.
However, Chadwick added,
the CGA would continue
to work with authorities to
comply with EU conditions,
although obviously no official
communication of what the
revised measures would be is
yet available. But, according
to the agriculture department,
they expect to be informed as
soon as a decision is reached by
the SCPH.
INSERT & CAPTION
The word ‘ban’ has
never been used
by the European
authorities.
– Justin Chadwick
