South Africa’s citrus industry suffered a blow on Sunday when the fungal infection citrus black spot (CBS) was found in a consignment of oranges in the Netherlands, the first incident this year.
The Dutch authorities issued a notification of phytosanitary non-compliance and communicated this to their counterparts in South Africa. The bad news follows the decision of the European Union (EU) in May not to ban the import of oranges and other fruit from South Africa because of CBS.
More occurrences of CBS in fruit exports could, however, see that decision changed.
The CEO of the Citrus Growers Association, Justin Chadwick, said on Sunday that this was the first time EU inspectors had detected CBS in fruit from South Africa this year. "This is disappointing news, particularly considering the steps taken to ensure compliance," he said.
The Citrus Growers Association will today dispatch an expert and representatives of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to the farm where the infected fruit came from to investigate how CBS could have slipped through the risk management net and to propose any remedial measures to prevent a recurrence.
Attempts to reach the agriculture ministry were unsuccessful.
But EU embassy spokesman Frank Oberholzer said if the incident had taken place, the plant and food safety authorities in Europe would be talking to South Africa’s agricultural authorities.
