EU to lift SA fruit ban

The European Commission has proposed dropping a ban on South African citrus imports but said it would be re-imposed if more fungus-contaminated fruit were detected.

The EU, which buys about R14-billion worth of South African citrus fruits every year banned oranges, lemons, and tangerines late last year because of fungal disease.

EU member states will vote on whether to extend the ban today. A reimposition would block South African exports of about 600000t of citrus in the May-October season.

South Africa supplies about a third of the EU's citrus imports and is the main source of oranges for the juice drunk in the UK, Germany and France during the European summer.

Last year's ban followed the interception of 35 citrus shipments from South Africa that were contaminated with the fungal black spot disease, which growers in southern Europe fear could take hold in their citrus groves.

Though harmless to humans, citrus black spot causes unsightly lesions on the fruit and leaves, reducing both harvest quality and quantity. There is no cure, but fungicides can control the spread of the disease.

The ban was imposed at a sensitive time because the EU is offering to improve the terms of its free-trade deal with South Africa in return for Pretoria's support for the trade deals that Europe wants with sub-Saharan Africa.

EU trade chief Karel de Gucht told South African officials during a visit to Johannesburg in November that the contaminated shipments of fruit were "serious and problematic".

But South African growers say banning their citrus produce from all EU countries would be unfair because there are no citrus groves in northern Europe because of the colder climate - so there would be no risk of the black spot fungal disease being introduced into countries such as Britain and Germany.

"It's what we'd term an industry-ending event should we be banned out of Europe," Justin Chadwick, head of the Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa, said earlier this year.