In view of the reluctance that some EU States, such as Germany and the Netherlands, continue to express, Brussels has decided not to address, for the moment, the proposal made by the Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, to require cold treatment for citrus exports from South Africa to the European Union to prevent the arrival of pests, such as the false moth.
Planas asked the European partners to establish higher sanitary standards for citrus imports from South Africa, just like other importing countries, such as the United States, are already requesting. In November, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reiterated the need to impose this cold treatment on citrus fruits from South Africa that enter the community market, promoting the Spanish thesis. The question now is how to articulate this request, through a regulatory review or with a decision of the European Commission; something that won't happen for the moment.
Planas also spoke about the commercial difficulties that citrus fruits face due to the increase in energy and fertilizer prices, and the high stock of fruit there is at the beginning of the Mediterranean citrus campaign.
Source: levante-emv.com
