In view of recent data and developments, the Valencian Growers Association (AVA-ASAJA) denounced the absolute anarchy that reigns at the EU's borders when monitoring the entry of plant material from third countries, contaminated by various pests.
To the interceptions of shipments infected with diseases such as CBS and originating mainly from South Africa we must now add the emergence of a new and alarming risk: the detection in shipments of Murraya Koenigii, better known as curry tree, of two insects that act as vectors of the "greening" disease, currently one of the biggest threats to the world's citrus sector, caused by a bacterium that has so far never been detected in Europe.
The worst part, however, is that in 2014 the European Commission introduced a tougher Directive 2000/29 with the goal of curbing the risks associated with the import of plants, but just six months after their entry into force, the impact of these changes appears to be non-existent.
In fact, between January and April this year, a total of seven batches of plants carrying the transmitting vectors of the "greening" disease have been intercepted at European ports; that is, the Trioza erytrae (African psyllid) and the Diaphorina citri (Asian psyllid).
Four of the Murraya batches where the African psyllid was detected came from Uganda and one from South Africa, while two cargoes containing the Asian psyllid were shipped from Malaysia and Vietnam. Obviously, this type of plant can also carry the "greening" bacteria directly.
According to AVA-ASAJA, the aforementioned interceptions highlight either the inability of EC authorities to address the problem, or their unwillingness to tackle it with the seriousness it deserves, since the legislative changes approved by the Commission establish that the Murraya plant material imported by the EU must come from countries that are both free from "greening" and its transmitting vectors and, consequently, shipments to Europe should arrive with an official statement confirming that this is the case.
The President of AVA-ASAJA, Cristóbal Aguado, said that "if those are the new rules and new legal conditions, it is inconceivable for these Murraya plants infected with African and Asian psyllids to even arrive to a European port, since they come from countries like South Africa, Malaysia and Vietnam, where entities such as the European and Mediterranean Organisation for Plant Protection (EPPO) have confirmed the presence of "greening" and its transmitting vectors, and consequently none of them is able to submit any documents attesting to the opposite."
"These circumstances," continues Aguado, "leads us to wonder whether the EU is violating its own regulations, or whether inspectors have not been properly informed about the countries affected by "greening" or the vector insects that transmit it. It must be that, or else these legislative changes are nothing more than a joke."
The director of AVA-ASAJA, Jenaro Aviñó, reported these great concerns on the issue within the Spanish citrus sector during the recent meeting of the group of citrus experts from the Directorate General for Agriculture of the European Commission, held in Brussels, and the laconic and disappointing response received by the members of the EU executive was that they shared those concerns and had already informed all member states about the new guidelines on border control.
Between 2013 and 2014, prior to the entry into force of the aforementioned legislative changes, there was a total of 19 interceptions of Murraya infected with the African psyllid and another 8 with the Asian psyllid in the EU. The Murraya, which is used purely for ornamental purposes, is also a plant that happens to belong to the same family as citrus: the rutaceae, thus the risk of transmission from these "greening" carrying insects is multiplied exponentially.
The presence of African psyllid was detected last summer in Galicia and Portugal, although the "greening" bacterium has not yet affected any plants in the Iberian Peninsula.
