“Political pressure obscures scientific basis of new cold treatment law for South African oranges”

Dolan – New regulations governing the cold treatment of oranges from the African continent have also severely affected the Dutch fruit and vegetable trade. “Our biggest concern is that the measures proposed are disproportionate and have not been scientifically proven. “It’s very slanderous to push these terms in the middle of the season, when big sizes start.”

“We have always urged the European Commission to set aside time to investigate this file, but there is already a lot of pressure to implement the new rules this season, while there is no crisis situation,” he continued. “People may have used this year as a turning point and can see what has already been done in South Africa. Our view is that people do not have a good picture of it. South Africa – as a developing country – is investing. Citrus Black Spot (CBS) and False Codling Moth (FCM). இரண்ட 200 million a year in sophisticated guarantees and controls to combat the spread of the two is deeply involved in improving Africa’s economy, but in this way, closing the borders has the opposite effect. “

Uganda Pepper
“We fully support the policy of protecting the EU against diseases and pests. We have an important production and export status in the Netherlands. However, the phytosanitary import policy must be based on real risks, minimizing potential impact on trade. We in the Netherlands also had to face our import ban on bell peppers and chillies by the US at the end of 2019. As a result of storing Ugandan chillies in the Dutch greenhouse, it was decided that, as a sector, imported material would not be allowed into your greenhouse, for example Countries can bring imported goods into their packaging warehouses, which are often located in the middle of their cultivation areas or ‘protected’. Degree zones’.

“If the FCM is really a big concern, then it’s a question of why it’s focusing on the South African oranges. There were 15, 12 and 8 interruptions, while a large number of imports were made.

Vote Proportion Technical Committees
In this document he emphasizes here that the Dutch government (NVWA – LNV) is fully committed to a botanical import policy based on Dutch interests and proper policies. Minister Stuart recently made a strong effort during a cabinet meeting in Brussels to counter Spain’s call for stricter import requirements for citrus fruits, especially from South Africa. But you may be the largest importer, the vote share on the European Commission’s technical committees is based on the number of citizens and the Dutch share is still less than 4%. The EU’s import policy has once again proved right in line with the principles of the Kling WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, which calls on the government to make efforts to ensure that. “

When asked how to proceed, he answers here that people in South Africa see what is possible with all their might. “There are not enough facilities to subject the entire volume to mandatory pre-cooling, especially not in the middle of the current season. The impact is huge. It’s completely contrary to EU policy and the Greens agreement. They are trying to increase the organic role. ” Says here.

“Overall, we firmly believe that these measures will unnecessarily damage our trade. The value of South African citrus imports is 650-700 million euros per year in the EU. These rules could lead to a halving of the value of orange imports. We call on the Belgian and German trade associations to evaluate the procedures that are being followed, but the harsh reality is that our importers are dealing directly with the consequences of this law. “

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