Citrus association flags EU’s ‘unjustified regulations’

Following an extremely challenging two years, where only one in five growers made a profit, this year’s better market prices and reduced shipping costs offered a measure of relief to many growers. Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa, said exports were still far below potential due to load shedding, rising input costs and flooding in the Citrusdal valley, which caused $26.6m in damage to citrus farms. However, Fin24 reports that Chadwick said the industry's biggest challenge this season was the EU's ‘intensification’ of unjustified regulations on SA imports to benefit its own citrus producers, particularly Spain. SA is the world's second-largest citrus exporter after Spain. Almost a third of SA citrus exports go to Europe. The EU has taken a tough stance on SA citrus exports, claiming that it wanted to protect its population from citrus affected by black spot disease. The EU is the only market in the world that has acted against black spot disease.