Citrus gets another black mark

CITRUS from the Eastern Cape will face tougher scrutiny after the interception in the Netherlands of South African citrus with black spot (CBS).

The Plant Health Authority in the Netherlands on Sunday notified the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of the interception. This is the first time this season that European Union (EU) inspectors have detected CBS on fruit from South Africa.

Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa (CGA) chief executive Justin Chadwick said the contaminated fruit originated from a farm near Tzaneen in Limpopo.

He said the EU would impose "additional measures" after a total of five interceptions of fruit with CBS. The most extreme measure would be a ban on citrus exports from South Africa to the EU.

Chadwick said the interception was disappointing news, particularly considering the steps taken to ensure compliance with the EU's requirements at enormous cost to the government and citrus industry. It included testing regimes and a comprehensive CBS risk management system.

"While the interception is a setback, it is also an opportunity for us to improve our risk management processes, which we will continue to implement in order to ensure unrestricted trade conditions for the immediate future."

Chadwick said in the Eastern Cape, which was the country's biggest lemon producing region, compliance by citrus growers had been in line with the stricter export measures in place this season.

However, he said most citrus exporters from the province, during the first part of the season, had focused on markets other than the EU.

He said due to the additional measures to avoid CBS entering the European market and heightened concerns over EU exports, many citrus growers across the country looked for different markets.

"The EU remains an important historic market for the SA citrus industry. The CGA calls on the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Senzeni Zokwana, to prioritise the swift and amicable resolution of the CBS dispute with the EU.

"The future of this important agricultural sector, together with the 120000 jobs and their 1.2 million dependents, depend on it."

Chadwick said there was still no agreement between South African authorities and the EU on whether fruit from areas where CBS was present was a risk to citrus-producing countries of the EU where CBS is absent, the magnitude of any possible risk, or the measures required for adequate mitigation of the actual risk.

Meanwhile, the CGA and government representatives visited the Limpopo farm in question to investigate how CBS could have slipped through the risk management net.

The CGA's special envoy for the EU, Deon Joubert, was also dispatched to Europe on Sunday for discussions on the interception. - Cindy Preller