Copa and Cogeca support the new EU measure imposing a cold treatment for citrus fruits imports from South Africa to protect EU orchards against the ravages that could be caused by false codling moths. Too many interceptions of citrus fruits from South Africa have occurred with the presence of this pest recently.
The regulation (EU) 2022/950 which entered into force on 14th of July; imposes South Africa to apply a cold treatment to all Europe-bound oranges and keep fruit stored at temperatures of two degrees Celsius or lower for 25 days. This new rule reinforces import measures to prevent the entry of false codling moth (Thaumatotibia leucotreta) into EU orchards. This decision was backed up by an EFSA opinion from 2021 demonstrating that cold treatment is the most efficient measure to avoid false codling moths from entering the EU through imports.
Cold treatment is also not a new measure for South African exporters as they must already implement this procedure when exporting to other countries like the United States.
South Africa requested that WTO launched dispute consultations with the European Union concerning certain measures imposed by the EU on the importation of South African citrus fruits. The request was circulated to WTO members on 29 July. South Africa had already been consulted during the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Committee of the World Trade Organisation (WTO/SPS Committee), which ran up until 11 April 2022.
Copa and Cogeca support the European Commission’s work reinforcing the measures protecting plant heath in EU citrus orchards and call on the Commission to ensure the full implementation of this Regulation at EU level. There have been too many interceptions of citrus fruits from South Africa in the past campaigns. Only this July, there were already two seizures involving false codling moths: one on mandarins and one on oranges. The spread of this pest could have extremely dramatic consequences for EU producers and consumers.
Faced with a real threat on our orchards, the EU must not be half-hearted. For Copa and Cogeca, the EU should now take a step further and include mandarins on the list of citrus fruits considered in the scope of the regulation.
Artigo publicado originalmente em Copa Cogeca.