South Africa and Argentina suspend part of their citrus shipments to the EU

The citrus sector of South Africa informed the European Commission that it will voluntarily suspend part of its exports of Orange Valencia to Europe as of September 22, due to the risk of spreading the disease of the Black Spot in the European producing countries.
 
Followed by the South African announcement, the Argentine government did not wait and, through the Service of Health and Agri-Food Quality (Senasa), has declared that it will paralyze the export of lemons. This after it was reported that last June 32 interceptions of black spots were made on shipments of which South Africa represented 24, Argentina 5 and Uruguay 3.
 
The news seems favorable for the citrus producing sector of Spain and the whole of Europe. However, Argentina, like South Africa, will continue to send other citrus fruits such as oranges and late tangerines, varieties that are also susceptible and represent fear of the entry of pests, especially black spot.
 
The European producers see these decisions as a move on the part of the South African and Argentine producers, who would give in at this moment to try to redirect the situation in the medium term. As mentioned by Cristóbal Aguado, “these decisions to temporarily suspend only the part of the shipments that interest them and maintain, at the same time, the export of the varieties that suit them is a gross cosmetic operation”.

As for, the European producers expect that the Authorities take some measure, do not give for satisfied while to the European ports continue arriving citrus varieties with new pests and diseases.

For more information, contact Sidera’s team: https://lnkd.in/dx8Y6P5