The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has once again revised its pest risk assessment on citrus black spot (CBS) which has resulted in the European Union putting South African citrus exports back on the watch list. The report, released on Friday, states: “Existing measures are effective at protecting the EU from two serious diseases that attack citrus plants. Should the disease enter a previously unaffected area, limited options are available to reduce the risk of establishment and spread. Therefore the Panel on Plant Health judges those risk reduction options aimed at preventing the entry of the pathogen into the EU to be the most effective.” South Africa exports about 650 000 tonnes of citrus to the EU annually, generating about R4bn in foreign exchange. Oranges make up half the exported fruit, the rest being grapefruit, lemons and soft citrus fruit such as mandarins.
