South African pest poses serious risk to EU citrus producers, MEPs warn

By Natasha Foote | EURACTIV.com

 Oct 25, 2022 (updated:  Oct 26, 2022)

The European Commission was quick to reassure MEPs that they are “taking action to protect the farming community”. [SHUTTERSTOCK]

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EU producers cannot afford any confusion or loosening of controls on imports of citrus fruits from South Africa, MEPs have warned, stressing the spread of pests could imperil the sector, but the Commission insists its measures are sufficient.

Farming stakeholders are concerned over the spread of the false codling moth, a pest native to sub-Saharan Africa that feeds on fruits including oranges and grapefruits.

“If we have these pests, our farmers are not going to be able to fight them off or defend themselves. They will lose their crops only because we were not able to implement and enforce the regulation that is mandatory,” Spanish socialist MEP Clara Aguilera warned during a meeting of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee on Monday (24 October).

To stem the spread of the insect, the EU introduced new measures back in July that require South African farmers to apply extreme cold treatment to all Europe-bound oranges and keep the fruits at temperatures of two degrees Celsius (35 degrees Fahrenheit) or lower for 25 days.

However, South Africa, the world’s second-largest exporter of fresh citrus after Spain, filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) back in July, arguing that the EU requirements were “not based on science”, more restrictive than necessary and “discriminatory”.

Meanwhile, the subsequent confusion over the new import rules saw millions of boxes of oranges left to spoil in containers after being stranded at European ports back in August. 

Tonnes of fruit stranded in EU, South Africa battle of oranges

Millions of boxes of oranges are spoiling in containers stranded at European ports as South Africa and the European Union lock horns in a dispute over import rules, citrus growers have said.

Slamming the European Commission’s efforts to contain the spread of the pest so far, the MEP questioned why South Africa was allowed to “do as they please”.

“[The Commission] said that there are requirements that we have to comply with. That’s not the problem. The problem is that there isn’t compliance,” she explained, arguing that the measures taken so far are insufficient. 

“It’s not true that the Commission is trying to protect our farmers. If that were the case, these containers would have been sent directly back to their country,” she added.

For its part, the Commission was quick to reassure MEPs that they take plant and animal health “very seriously” and are “taking action to protect the farming community”.

“We are not afraid of taking strong measures to protect agriculture in the EU,” a representative from the Commission’s DG Sante said in response to the concerns. 

Meanwhile, the representative was quick to dispel rumours that the EU executive had struck a deal with South Africa to go easy on the restrictions. 

“The Commission did not make any agreement with South Africa on the cold treatment of those non-compliant consignment of oranges,” he said, stressing that there are “no oranges which have been put in free circulation in the EU without this additional treatment.”

While some imports did not follow the new measures and were subsequently carried out at a later stage in the airports prior to shipping, the Commission representative stressed this was a temporary fix and not one that South Africa will be able to rely on going forward.

“[South Africa] is expected to fully comply with the new sanitary measures for all future consignments,” he said.

[Edited by Gerardo Fortuna/Nathalie Weatherald]