Brussels, 29/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - COPA-COGECA considers the measures taken by the EU to contain the spread of black spot disease will have no impact. The disease affects certain South African citrus fruits (see EUROPE 10973).
The standing committee on plant health approved, on 28 November, a Commission proposal aimed at suspending Community imports of citrus fruit from the South African zones affected by the highly contagious black spot disease, in order to prevent contagion within EU orchards. The real effect of the provision will last only a few weeks as the suspension relates to the 2012-2013 harvest, stocks of which are coming to an end. The idea, however, is to send a signal to South Africa so that it monitors its exports more closely. This year, European customs services have detected 36 infected cargoes from South Africa.
Pekka Pesonen, COPA-COGECA Secretary General, considers that the protection measure will “have no impact as the season has already finished this year” in South Africa. “What we need are measures for 2014 before imports start in March”, he argues, before going on to say that the EU has been faced by a “very high” risk of contamination this season and “we cannot repeat it next year”.
The agricultural cooperatives and organisations of the EU consider that it is vital to “protect our 500,000 hectares of European citrus fruit orchards and 10 million tonnes of produce from being contaminated with black spot”, a disease that does not currently exist in the EU. This year, some 400,000 tonnes of citrus produce were imported into the EU from South Africa, COPA-COGECA states, i.e. around one third of total EU28 citrus imports. (LC/transl.jl)