"South Africa cancelling citrus shipments to S. Europe is nonsense"

Last week, we published the article "South Africa may consider stopping citrus exports to southern Europe", in which Jourbert Deon, on behalf of the South African Citrus Growers Association, reported the African country's proposal to stop citrus exports to southern Europe because of the "incongruity" in the methods used in countries like Spain and Italy for the detection of diseases and pests such as CBS, better known as citrus black spot.

The Spanish citrus sector has been quick to respond to this statement, which has caused both surprise and indignation.

"The Spanish sector has always been open to dialogue, both on a technical and professional level. For this reason, we don't understand the position of the representatives of the South African citrus industry, which shows an incomprehensible arrogance," points out José Antonio García, director of AILIMPO (Interprofessional Association of Lemon and Grapefruit).

"Interception statistics in 2014 clearly indicate that the phytosanitary problem in South Africa is out of control, and for reasons we do not understand, no effective control systems are implemented. This is not just about CBS; the number of detections False Codling Moth or Thaumatotibia leucotreta are also particularly worrying," affirmed the representative, who stressed the importance of South Africa first acknowledging that it has an internal problem and to work effectively to solve it.

Secondly, for José Antonio García, the key is to respect the rules of the game, which in Europe's case are set by the EU through the decisions and regulations of the 28 member states. "European legislation applies throughout the EU territory and under no circumstances can official EU inspectors (or from any country) be accused of not enforcing the rules professionally," he states.

For Cristóbal Aguado, president of AVA-ASAJA (Valencian Growers Association), the approach to cancel exports to southern Europe is absolute "nonsense," since the EU market has no borders and goods circulate freely. "It makes no sense to make that distinction so clear between northern and southern Europe," he says. "These statements seem a bluff; a way to cover up their own shortcomings," he adds.

"I guess it involves channelling as much volume as possible through northern ports, where phytosanitary checks are apparently carried out in a more satisfactory manner. We talk about countries like the UK and the Netherlands, with strong historical ties. It makes sense for controls at European producing countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece to be stricter because of everything that is at stake," explains Cristóbal Aguado.

José Antonio García and Cristóbal Aguado agree that Deon Jourbert is not an official representative of the South African Government, but of the citrus sector, and that the Government of South Africa should be the one communicating with the Governments of southern Europe if they disagree with the criteria we use to detect diseases in citrus shipments.

"A few years ago, the United States received shipments of Spanish clementines where the presence of a living larva of Ceratitis capitata was detected, even though it was never proven. The reaction was quick, as they immediately closed the borders to Spanish citrus. Spain only managed to re-open this market following the signing of a specific agreement with the United States in which strict monitoring protocols, including field inspections carried out by American officials, were established," explains Aguado. "With such precedents, we are sure that Deon Joubert will not mention the strict inspections which South African shipments must go through to be able to access the U.S. market."

In the words of Cristóbal Aguado: "Black Spot is a real threat corroborated by the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), which already dealt with the matter at the time. It is therefore not just paranoia on the part of the agricultural organisations in southern Europe."

José Antonio García concludes that this "negotiation style is clearly unprofessional. In Spain, we use an expression that says: 'Never bite the hand that feeds you.' This attitude from South Africa is unbelievable, considering the EU is the main market for its citrus. It would make sense to take a humbler approach to be able to access this market. With this attitude, the CGA is doing a disservice to South African producers."