New labelling regulations threaten citrus exports to Russia

The Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum (FPEF) is seeking clarity on a Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) ruling which could seriously impact South Africa’s citrus exports to one of its biggest overseas markets. The EEC has introduced new technical regulations on food production labelling – which became effective in Russia on February 15 – which the FPEF believes could be technically difficult and expensive to implement. “One of the biggest issues for South African exporters is the lack of standardised labelling,” said Anton Kruger, CEO of the FPEF. He told FTW that the labelling requirements were, in some cases, impossible for South African producers to meet. “Fruit products are often packed for export in packing houses where there is, as yet, no market designation. The decision on a consignment to a specific address is often taken when the vessel is being loaded,” said Kruger. He explained that at that point, adding a label would mean destroying the pallets to get the label on the product packaging. Mikhail Fateev, head of food and agriculture at the Russia-RSA Business Council, commented that South African exporters/producers were not familiar with the specific requirements of EEC product labelling, such as the location of an EEC mark on a label or the indication of an expiry date. “Errors are bound to occur and the Russian customs officials do not forgive mistakes,” he said, pointing out that customs officials could refuse product entry and confiscate products or insist the products be returned to the country of origin. “By my calculations, a number of farms in South Africa – particularly the small to medium enterprise (SME) farmers – will not be able to meet these requirements and will be forced to seek alternative export markets,” he said. Fateev commented that those producers who were able to comply would do so at additional expense, which would add to the eventual retail cost and affect the competitiveness of the product. Russia is a major export market for South Africa, currently claiming about 12% of all global citrus exports out of the country. “About a quarter of all oranges sold in Russia are of South African origin and they are seen as high-value items,” Fateev said, adding that the introduction of the new technical regulations was sure to dent import volumes into Russia. “Already, preliminary figures indicate a 40% slump in Russian citrus imports from South Africa for January 2015, over January 2014,” he said. INSERT & CAPTION One of the biggest issues for South African exporters is the lack of standardised labelling. – Anton Kruger