http://www.zestfruit.co.za
Despite one of the best seasons on record in terms of mitigating the risk of Citrus Black Spot (CBS) symptoms on fruit arriving at EU borders, the EU seems determined to meet South Africa’s best efforts with unflinching bureaucratic coldness.
At a meeting in Brussels on 27 November between the EU’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG Sante), the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and a delegation of SA citrus producers, the EU begrudgingly acknowledged this year as a good season.
However, the EU showed no interest in reviewing its position on CBS as a quarantine pest, demanding full compliance and refusing to consider any reasonable requests for relaxation of the excessive and unsustainable protocols governing the pest.