The European Union requires that citrus fruits exported from South Africa undergo extreme cold storage to prevent tinnitus contamination.
CAPE TOWN – Citrus farmers say there is no solid basis for EU cold storage requirements for their exports.
The European Union requires that citrus fruits exported from South Africa undergo extreme cold storage to prevent tinnitus contamination.
Meanwhile, the government has launched a trade dispute with the World Trade Organization against the EU’s moves.
ALG Estates director Hendrik Warnich, from one of the leading citrus farms in the Western Cape, said the industry does have strict controls on citrus exports.
“The likelihood of citrus black spot or false tinning occurring when the fruit is exported should be impossible under existing control measures. There is no evidence to suggest that South Africa poses a real threat to Europe.’
Varnich said that these cold storage measures that farmers have been forced to take are putting additional financial pressure on them.
The South African Citrus Growers Association said the country’s profits rose from 8 billion rand in 2014 to just over 30 billion rand last year.
