South Africa has requested the establishment of two panels at a meeting of the dispute settlement body (DSB) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to examine what it says are unscientific and discriminatory measures placed on citrus imports from the country by the European Union (EU).
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) said last week that steps were taken to address the EU’s regulations on two separate plant health issues, citrus black spot (CBS) and false codling Moth (FCM).
The citrus industry is one of the key pillars of the South African agriculture sector, supporting up to 140 000 jobs.
A delegation from SA made the representations at a meeting of the WTO in Geneva this week.
The acting director-general of the department Malebo Mabitje-Thompson, further clarified the government’s actions at the WTO.
“The EU’s measures on CBS and FCM are not justified, proportionate or appropriate. It must be understood, however, that the WTO process is not confrontational or aggressive. The goal is scientific truth and fairness.
“We are making use of the WTO mechanisms available to us to find an amicable solution,” said Mabitje-Thompson.
The South African citrus -industry is currently entering its peak export season with oranges heading to the ports. It is estimated that the country will export a total of 170-million 15kg cartons this year.
The exceptional quality of local citrus has made it sought-after internationally. South Africa is the world’s second largest exporter of citrus.
The EU said it regretted South Africa’s decision to pursue panel proceedings in the two cases, but maintained that its pest control measures are entirely justified and that it was confident that it would succeed in any dispute proceedings.
The EU added that it was not ready at this meeting to agree to the requests for panels from South Africa.
The DTIC said currently, South African citrus growers are spending billions of rands per year to comply with the EU’s CBS and FCM measures that the industry considers
unscientific and unnecessarily restrictive.
The DTIC said South Africa already has an effective world-class risk management system that ensures safe citrus exports and that emerging citrus -growers are especially hardest hit by the EU measures.
This is the first time that South Africa progresses a dispute at the WTO beyond the panel state of the established DSB process.
The DTIC said on April 15, 2024, South Africa requested consultations with the EU on the CBS matter, which initiated a process that has ended without any results.
“On FCM, South Africa initiated consultations in July of 2022, with no satisfactory conclusion as well. A panel will now also be formed on the FCM -matter.”
While the EU did not at this time accept South Africa’s -request for the two panels, the set DSB procedure is that the -requested adjudication panels will be established at its next meeting in July 2024.
A DSB panel report can usually be expected after nine months.
“Last year we exported 36% of all our citrus to the EU. That shows what an important market it is for our growers. It is the very foundation of citrus profitability in SA,” said Justin Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers Association in reaction to SA’s case.
He said should the EU continue with the implementation of these measures, or intensify them in any way, the profitability-ty of hundreds of growers will be negatively affected and the industry will suffer severe -revenue and job losses.
“But this is also potentially good news for the European consumer. Their orange prices last summer were at an all-time high. However, if their supply is unfettered, consumers will benefit,” said Chadwick.
Mooketsa Ramasodi, director-general of the Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development said the -government is acting to safeguard livelihoods and the central role the citrus industry plays in rural communities.
