South Africa’s orange growers are nervously awaiting a critical decision on the oranges that they export to the European Union (EU). Proposed new EU regulations on false codling moth (FCM) have the potential to do serious harm to Southern African orange exports.
The EU’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed will this week discuss and, possibly vote on, new and arguably misinformed FCM regulations. The committee plays a key role in ensuring that EU measures on food and feed safety, animal health and welfare as well as plant health are practical and effective. It delivers opinions on draft measures that the commission intends to adopt.
If member states agree on them, the regulations will pose a serious threat to the continuity of orange imports from South Africa, says Deon Joubert, special Citrus Growers Association envoy for market access and EU matters.
“In South Africa, these new regulations will put the sustainability of the industry at risk and the 140 000 mostly rural jobs it sustains.”
For European consumers, large gaps in the supply chain and higher prices could be a reality “at a time when the region faces the real risk of food insecurity due to the ongoing Ukraine-Russian conflict,” Joubert adds.
What the EU wants from exporting
What the proposed legislation requires is for African countries to implement a “drastic” mandatory cold treatment of 0 °C to -1 °C for at least 16 days for oranges headed to Europe.
This, Joubert says, is despite South Africa enforcing a rigorous risk management system over the past few years. It is regarded as highly effective in protecting European production from the threat of pest or disease, including false codling moth (FCM).
“In this regard, when it comes to the 800 000 tonnes of citrus imports to the EU annually, FCM interceptions have been consistently low over the past three years – 19 (2019), 14 (2020) and 15 (2021) interceptions respectively,” Joubert says.
South Africa has also disputed six of its EU interceptions last year, as the overwhelming expert and scientifically reviewed evidence indicated that the larvae was dead and posed no risk.
This was in stark contrast to FCM interceptions from other importing countries: 53, 129 and 58 interceptions respectively over the last three years.
“Yet, no measures have been proposed against these countries, which makes the new regulations proposed against South Africa even more inexplicable.”
‘Disproportionate and unfeasible’
The proposed new regulations were filed at the World Trade Organisation on 10 February this year. The filing is normal procedure, but, unlike in previous years when issues are discussed bilaterally, no prior consultation had taken place with the South African National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) this year.
The CGA views the proposed regulations as disproportionate and unfeasible for a number of reasons.
Firstly, only a portion of the crop will be able to withstand the prescribed new cold treatment temperatures, Joubert cautions.
“We hope sanity will prevail during… deliberations this week and these new regulations are rejected.”
Deon Joubert, special Citrus Growers Association envoy for market access and EU matters
“Furthermore, new provisions on the regulations which require ‘data loggers’ from containers and a ‘measured pulp temperature threshold’ are totally different to the current EU-accepted FCM risk management system.
“These will require specialised and severely short-supplied container equipment which will not be able to accommodate the huge volumes of fruit exported from South Africa to the EU,” he explains.
The mandatory cold treatment could also put a stop to all exports of organic and “chemical-free” [non-treated] oranges to the EU. These include several popular varieties such as blood oranges, Turkey, Salustiana, Benny and Midknights.
This is due to these products simply not being able to withstand the suggested cold treatment, says Joubert. Yet, these environmentally friendly and sustainable orange types have never recorded an FCM interception.
Political agenda at play?
“The fact that this proposed legislation was put forward, despite alternative and equally effective cold treatment options being available and which have already been provided for in the South African FCM risk management system, indicates that it is being driven by a political agenda,” Joubert says.
It is for these reasons that interest groups, including growers in Southern Africa and importers from a number of EU countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France, lodged objections to the proposed regulations during the recent EU “Have your Say” public participation process.
In total, a record 164 submissions were made, with 90% of these objecting the proposed regulations.
The Citrus Growers’ Association says it has been meeting with member countries to discuss the threat of these regulations to the year-round availability of oranges for EU consumers and the 140 000 jobs the industry sustains in South Africa.
“We hope sanity will prevail during… deliberations this week and these new regulations are rejected.”
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