CGA
The Citrus Growers Association of South Africa is calling for government intervention to ensure the continued export of oranges to the European Union.
CEO, Justin Chadwick says they've written to the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Ebrahim Patel calling for the establishment of a World Trade Organisation Panel to adjudicate on the new regime governing the importation of South African oranges to the European Union.
He says if the issue is not resolved before the 2023 export season kicks off, growers could face hundreds of millions in losses - putting the future sustainability of the entire industry at risk.
Chadwick says their call follows a stalemate between the South African government and the European Union after the Department lodged a dispute at the WTO in July last year.
He says the cold treatment prescribed within the new regulations is contrary to scientific evidence, making it an arbitrary and unnecessarily trade restrictive measure, and should EU authorities continue to enforce it, additional costs and loss of income will amount to more than R500 million in 2023.
"The South African government has presented clear evidence during the consultation process that the country's existing and stringent FCM risk management system already ensures that 99.9% of oranges entering the EU are pest free, with only two FCM interceptions detected in the more than 350 000 tons of oranges shipped to the region in 2022", Chadwick said.
He says the matter was raised during a high-level engagement between senior EU and SA government officials with no positive outcome.
"It is therefore clear that political intervention at a Ministerial level is required in order to ensure the major threat that the new regulations pose to the upcoming 2023 citrus season is resolved as a matter of priority", Chadwick said.
