info@1stfruits.co.za
Join us
Find us
Follow Us
Firstfruits

Tag: European Union

23 Mar 2026
EU Missions - Soil deal for Europe
By Firstfruits Consulting Website News , ,

EU Missions – Soil deal for Europe

The Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ is an ambitious, innovative instrument launched in 2021 by the European Commission to accelerate the development and large-scale deployment of solutions for sustainable land and soil management as part of a wider, green transition. Together with the Soil Strategy, the upcoming Soil Health Law, the EU Soil Observatory and climate policies (such as for carbon farming) the Mission is part of a robust framework for soil protection in the EU. While rooted in the EU research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe, the Mission serves as a mechanism to enhance synergies with other EU programmes such as the Common Agricultural Policy and to team up with stakeholders in Member States, EU Associated Countries and global partners.

READ MORE

31 Aug 2022
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News , , ,

Tonnes of South African citrus fruit stranded in EU ports over dispute

Tonnes of oranges are rotting in containers stuck in European ports and could be wasted as South Africa and the European Union clash in a trade dispute over import rules.

South Africa, the world’s second-largest exporter of fresh citrus fruits after Spain, filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) last month when the EU introduced new phytosanitary requirements that growers say threaten their survival.

The measures came into force in July when ships carrying hundreds of containers full of South African fruit bound for Europe were already at sea, causing them to be blocked on arrival, according to the South African Citrus Growers Association (CGA).

READ MORE

18 Nov 2021
Citrus exports to EU
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News , ,

RSA citrus exports to EU under threat

South African and European Union representatives are in intense discussions to alleviate the impact of a steep rise in reported Citrus Black Spot (CBS) and False Codling Moth (FCM) interceptions on citrus shipped to the EU. The South African industry is extremely concerned about the fallout from these interceptions, which comes at the end of a very difficult shipping season.

READ MORE

18 Nov 2021
EUs Green Deal
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News ,

The EU’s Green Deal: opportunities, threats and risks for South African agriculture

The European Union – among a host of other countries – is seeking to implement urgent policy measures to combat the effects of climate change. In its 2030 climate target plan, the EU aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% from 1990 levels. To that end, the EU has crafted the “Farm to Fork strategy”. Launched in 2020, it is a new approach that ensures that agriculture, fisheries, and the entire food system effectively contributes to achieving the target. The strategy is at the core of a broader initiative, the European Green Deal.

READ MORE

31 Mar 2019
Navel Oranges
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News , ,

SA won’t give up its fight against the EU’s intransigence towards our citrus products.

Justin Chadwick
www.dailymaverick.co.za

Despite one of the best seasons on record in mitigating the risk of Citrus Black Spot symptoms on fruit arriving at EU borders, the EU seems determined to meet South Africa’s best efforts with unflinching bureaucratic coldness.

The Rewe supermarket in Mitte, Berlin – along the banks of the Spree River – has a selection of Stellenbosch wine, chakalaka flavoured chips and baskets of fresh South African oranges. None of which, in the globalised 2018 world, is surprising or out of place. All of which makes it so difficult to accept the European Union’s (EU) relentless and equally hardkoppige 26-year campaign to keep those oranges off the shelves – citing something called citrus black spot (CBS).

READ MORE

23 Nov 2018
Non-compliance regarding FCM
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , ,

South Africa under pressure to get it right on FCM and CBS

Carolize Jansen
https://www.freshplaza.com

DAFF proposes new recommendations to deal with loopholes and non-compliance regarding FCM

On 24 October, officials from the National Plant Protection Organisation of South Africa (NPPOZA) of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Citrus Growers’ Association gave growers, packhouses, forwarding agents, exporters and traders, an overview of the past season during the annual citrus coordinating meeting. It kicked off with an overview of the season in the European Union.READ MORE