Cape Town - Short-term pain for long-term gain is the name of the game as far as the Citrus Growers’ Association of South Africa (CGA) is concerned.
With a month to go of the current export season, farmers and exporters of Valencia oranges have voluntarily decided to stop exporting the oranges from growing areas exposed to the citrus black spot (CBS) disease.
CBS is a fungal disease that causes lesions on the rind of the fruit, and the EU has imposed phytosanitary regulations in this regard. Citrus in South Africa is grown mainly in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Western Cape.
CGA chief executive Justin Chadwick said while the ban would serve as another blow to growers who have faced one of the most challenging seasons to date, continued access to the EU market over the longer term had to be prioritised.
He said the decision also showed South Africa’s phytosanitary CBS Risk Mitigation System being implemented effectively. The self-imposed export ban will begin on September 16, but the CGA and the Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum Boards said mandarin oranges, grapefruit, lemons and navel oranges from CBS-free areas would not be affected.
This challenge has been further compounded by the recent unjustified and discriminatory false codling moth (FCM) regulations imposed by the EU, which will require exporting African countries to implement drastic mandatory cold treatment for oranges headed to the region.
South African producers have insisted their protection measures are adequate, and voiced suspicion that the EU ban is aimed at protecting Spanish citrus growers. And they are worried about future consignments.
DA provincial spokesperson on Agriculture, Andricus van der Westhuizen said: “The new regulations seem to be motivated more by politics and protectionism than genuine concern over FCM, especially as previous regulations had already proved extremely effective.”
He said the world did not not need more protectionism in trade but freer markets that allowed developing economies fair access to developed markets.
These new regulations recently saw up to 1 350 containers of citrus detained at EU ports for a number of weeks.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za