Joint statement by The Department of Agriculture, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) and the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA)

South Africa’s cases against EU citrus measures move forward at WTO

On Friday 26 July 2024, South Africa requested the establishment of two panels at a meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to examine what, in South Africa’s view, are unscientific and discriminatory measures placed on citrus imported from South Africa by the European Union (EU), following over 20 years of engagements with the EU to find an amicable solution.

The initial requests for establishment of the panels were made on 24 June 2024 and were not accepted by the EU. In line with the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding, the second panel requests made today, were now automatically approved by the Chair of the WTO DSB.

These WTO dispute settlement 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 regulations are being challenged by the South African government to protect the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in the local citrus industry.

Currently, South African citrus growers are spending approximately R3.7 billion per year to comply with CBS and FCM measures.  The measures are unscientific and unnecessarily restrictive as South Africa already has an effective world-class risk management system that ensures safe citrus exports. Emerging citrus growers are especially hit hard with significant implications for livelihoods and jobs. The measures at issue affect not only South Africa but also other southern African developing and least developed countries that depend on SA’s infrastructure for their citrus fruit exports.

The request to establish the two panels is a significant development. This is the first time that South Africa advances into the panel stage of the WTO DSB process. The panel phase begins the adjudicative process of the disputes.

In July 2022, South Africa initiated consultations with the EU in the WTO on FCM, with no satisfactory conclusion. On 15 April 2024, South Africa requested consultations with the EU on the CBS matter, which initiated a process that ended without an amicable solution. A WTO dispute case can take on average approximately 18 months to be adjudicated and the panel ruling could be appealed to the Appellate Body, which is currently unable to consider cases due to a lack of quorum.

At today’s DSB meeting the Government’s representatives reiterated the legal basis of their complaints at the WTO headquarters in Geneva which include among others that: the measures are not based on scientific principles and are maintained without sufficient scientific evidence; the EU fails to apply the measures in a uniform, impartial and reasonable manner and the measures are more trade-restrictive than required and are applied in a manner that is not in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, of which the EU is a signatory.

The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, further clarified Government’s actions at the WTO: “South Africa is asking for justified, proportionate and appropriate measures. The WTO process gives us a mechanism with which to potentially solve the problem amicably. The WTO dispute mechanism ensures a lasting solution to address our concerns and is utilised by all trading partners to resolve trade disputes and is therefore not an aggressive or confrontational stance by South Africa.”

“140 000 livelihoods at farm level alone are sustained by the citrus industry”, explained Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen. “It is a priority for Government to protect these jobs and to make sure citrus can continue to play the essential economic role it does in so many rural communities throughout the country.”

The SA Government has the support of the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA). “Europe represents over one third of all our citrus exports. It is a huge market and the very foundation of citrus profitability in SA. Apart from these measures currently threatening the citrus industry’s sustainability, if the EU were to intensify them in any way, the consequences would be job losses on a massive scale. Making sure appropriate measures are in place is also potentially good news for the European consumer. Their orange prices last summer were at an all-time high. If their supply were to be unfettered, consumers will benefit.” said Justin Chadwick, CEO of the CGA.

The South African citrus industry is currently just past its peak export season with especially Valencia oranges heading to the ports. It is estimated that South Africa will export a total of 167 million 15kg cartons this year. It is the world’s second largest exporter of citrus, after Spain.

These actions have been initiated to find a lasting solution to the EU’s phytosanitary regulations on CBS and FCM, in order to safeguard the agricultural sector that contributes significantly to the economy and to protect the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in the local citrus industry.

For media enquiries please contact:

Yamkela Fanisi – Ministerial Spokesperson
Department of Trade, Industry and Competition
YFanisi@thedtic.gov.za
076 034 6551

Linda Page
Department of Agriculture
Linda.Page@dalrrd.gov.za
083 460 4482

Loftus Marais
loftus@resolvecommunications.co.za
072 833 0717

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