The Citrus Management Committee (CGC), the national association that brings together private exporters, regrets the uncertainty created by the revision of phytosanitary protocols to regulate South African citrus imports to the EU. Shipments have already begun and some are already arriving in European ports and the Commission (EC) has not yet validated the proposal made by this country. After the strong rebound last season in European interceptions of the Citrus Black Spot (CBS) -with up to 24 port refusals- and 14 interceptions of the dangerous Thaumatotibia leucotreta moth, South Africa had to commit to review its control programs for both pests.
The CGC has been able to ascertain that there have been significant changes that, if possible, generate greater distrust. On the one hand, the South African Ministry of Agriculture (DAFF) has failed to monitor the compliance of both programs, which have been entrusted until 2019 to the same public company (called PPECB) that last year inspected them and gave way to such an alarming amount of port rejections. On the other hand, some of the most relevant measures proposed to ensure the phytosanitary status of the shipments to the EU haven’t been confirmed by independent scientists or comply with international regulations. In particular, and as a sign of the inability to contain the Thaumatotibia at origin, the Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa has proposed a false cold treatment that hasn’t been tested for this insect and that, according to the CGC, “has been tailored to save face.”