The cold treatment for the arrival of citrus from South Africa to the European Union It is the culmination of a long struggle led by the countries of the South and the authorities and agrarian organizations of points such as the Valencian Community. regulationwhich thus aims to prevent the arrival of pests that may affect local plantations, as happened a few years ago with the cotonet, launched on July 14 and has already originated the first mismatches. The most serious is entry of fruit to European ports without previously undergoing this treatment.
South Africa shipped containers before the regulations came into force, although it had already been reported that it was imminent, and when they arrived in Europe they found the merchandise blocked as they did not have the certification of cold treatment. After several weeks of pressure, South Africa gets away with it, confirming that it has managed to “negotiate a deal” with the UE to enable this download. “We have managed to dispatch more than 300 of the 509 containers and we are processing the dispatch of the remaining containers,” although they add that “nearly 2,000 containers have been affected” by what they consider to be “a blockade” by the EU.
reactions
The agrarian groups, which have fought so hard for this measure against uncontrolled imports, have reacted to this novelty. The president of the Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-Asaja)Cristobal Aguado I affirm that “If this information were true, it would be an intolerable scandal for us, since it would mean not only a humiliation of the EU towards its farmers and a threat to the phytosanitary safety of citrus fruits and a multitude of agricultural and tree species in Europe, but, in addition, it could be considered a fraud of law because the EU would be failing to comply with its own regulations”. For this reason, explanations are requested from all administrations with powers in agricultural matters.
The general secretary of the Union of FarmersCarles Peris, demanded that citrus arrived through the stratagem of sending fruit before the entry into force of the standard “have a strict evaluation of their condition, that it be monitored if it carries any pest and everything that is necessary is rejected, since affected batches have been detected”. In addition, he considered that from now on “there is no excuse for not requiring the certification of the cold treatment, as more than proven that South Africa is not capable of shipping pest-free.”