South African citrus growers raise alarm over EU import restrictions

New European Union rules governing imports of South African citrus are raising objections and a possible World Trade Organization action by the South African government, according to a news release.

On July 22, the government of South Africa wrote to officials at the EU and the WTO to request trade consultations regarding new rules governing the imports of citrus fruit from South Africa. 

Justin Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers’ Association of South Africa, said in a statement that new EU regulations requiring cold treatment for South African oranges heading to the region as a means to address False Coddling Moth interceptions were “unjustified and discriminatory.” The regulations went into effect July 14, just 23 days after being published, he said in the statement.

The action, which Chadwick described as “protectionist,”  has created devastating consequences for South African citrus growers, he said.

“These transgressions have already impacted an estimated 3.2 million cartons of citrus valued at $39 million, with reports of hundreds of containers of South African citrus being detained by authorities in the EU on arrival,” Chadwick said in the statement. “Without immediate political intervention, the threat remains that these consignments will be destroyed by EU authorities.”

Chadwick said the crisis not only threatens the sustainability and profitability of South African growers but also results in more expensive citrus for European consumers.

“We simply cannot allow, what was clearly nothing more than a politically motivated move by the Spanish, to decimate the businesses of thousands of local growers and the livelihoods they support, while threatening the destruction of millions of cartons of top-quality fruit by EU authorities,” Chadwick said.