A consignment of South African citrus fruit heading to Europe had been found to have citrus black spot disease, the Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA) said yesterday.
“This is the first time EU inspectors have detected citrus black spot in fruit from South Africa this year,” CGA chief executive Justin Chadwick said.
He said that Dutch authorities for plant health had issued a notification of phytosanitary non-compliance yesterday after intercepting the consignment. Phytosanitary measures are designed to ensure consignments of plants, especially agricultural crops, are free from disease.
Citrus black spot is caused by a fungus infecting the fruit.
“This notification is disappointing news particularly considering the steps taken to ensure compliance with, and demonstrate commitment to meeting, the EU requirements.”
The notification means that citrus imports from South Africa are placed on a trade watch list at EU borders.
If spotty fruit is found, the consignments are impounded.
Chadwick said the CGA’s special envoy to the EU, Deon Joubert, had left for Europe to meet with EU representatives over the matter.
He also said that the farm in question would be visited by representatives of the Department of Agriculture, as well as an expert from the CGA to see how the fruit sent for export could have slipped through the system of risk management and to seek ways to remedy the situation.
Chadwick said that it remained under dispute as to whether commercial fruit from areas where citrus black spot was found could be a risk to citrus-producing countries in the EU. “It remains imperative that this difference of opinion and the science that underlies it is resolved once and for all.”
In May, the department announced it would try to ensure South Africa complied with the European Commission’s new citrus-import requirements.
This followed the commission’s standing committee on plant health endorsing stricter import requirements for local citrus fruit being exported to Europe.
At the time, department spokeswoman Makenosi Maroo said that measures including the registration of orchards and fields, mandatory spraying regimes and various inspections had been put in place to ensure exported citrus did not contain the fungus in question. - Sapa