South Africa takes EU’s ‘arbitrary’ citrus import rules to WTO

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa has asked the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to consider what the country called “unscientific and discriminatory measures” imposed on citrus fruits imported from the country by the European Union (EU).

“The South African government is challenging these regulations to protect the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people employed in the local citrus industry,” said a joint statement by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and the Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa (CGA).

“Currently, South African citrus growers are spending billions of rands a year to comply with measures that the industry considers unscientific and unnecessarily restrictive because South Africa already has an effective, world-class risk management system in place to ensure safe citrus exports. Emerging citrus growers are particularly affected by EU funds,” the statement added.

Earlier this week, South Africa requested the establishment of two panels at a meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to address EU rules on two separate plant health issues – citrus black spot and false codling moth .

The authorities said this was the first time South Africa had brought a dispute to the WTO because its request to the EU for consultations had yielded no results.

They found that, in addition to the fact that the EU measures were not based on science-based principles and were maintained without sufficient scientific evidence, the EU had not applied these measures in a uniform, impartial and reasonable manner.

“These measures are more trade restrictive than is required to achieve protection, and there are reasonably available, technically and economically feasible alternatives that would achieve protection in a significantly less trade-restrictive manner.

“Last year we exported 36 percent of all our citrus fruits to the EU. This shows how important this market is for our breeders. This is the basis for the profitability of citrus farming in South Africa. If the EU continues to implement these measures or intensifies them in any way, it will have a negative impact on the profitability of hundreds of growers and the industry will suffer serious losses in revenues and jobs,” they said.

“The citrus industry provides 140,000 jobs at farm level alone. The government is working to protect these livelihoods and the central role the citrus industry plays in so many of our rural communities,” explained DALRRD CEO Mooketsa Ramasodi.

Justin Chadwick, president of CGA, said the action could also be good news for European consumers.

“Last summer their orange prices were at an all-time high. But if their supply is unrestricted, consumers will benefit,” Chadwick said.

South Africa is the world’s second largest citrus exporter and their exceptional quality makes them sought after internationally.

The local citrus industry is now entering its peak winter export season, with oranges flowing into ports. It is estimated that South Africa will export a total of 170 million 15-kilogram cartons this year.