Cape Town - Tthe citrus industry has closed exports of the Valencia oranges to European countries to mitigate the risk of the fungal disease, Citrus Black Spot (CBS).
The suspension of all exports of Valencias will come into effect on September 16.
Europe is South Africa’s largest market for citrus. The industry generated export revenue of R30 billion and sustained 130 000 jobs.
The Citrus Growers' Association of South Africa (CGA) and the Fresh Produce Exporters' Forum said the decision was taken voluntarily in response to 10 notifications of non-compliance on SA citrus detected this season and the risk posed to the importing countries.
Citrus in South Africa is grown mainly in Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Western Cape.
However, mandarins, grapefruit, lemons and navel organges will not be affected by the suspension.
"While this closure will serve as another blow to growers who have faced one of the most challenging seasons, continued access to the EU market over the longer term must be prioritised," said CGA CEO, Justin Chadwick.
The industry predicted that by the end of the season about 167.2 million cartons of citrus will be shipped to the overseas market, approximately 3.3 million cartons less than what was expected at the start of the season.
Chadwick also said the majority of citrus growers faced the prospect of significant income loss this year.
"This poses a major threat to the sustainability and profitability of the sector which generates about R30bn in export revenue," said Chadwick.
He added that due to the Russian-Ukraine conflict and the impact of Covid-19, price hikes on imports such as the fertiliser rose by more than 56% between 2020 and 2021 and fuel prices by 53%.
Chadwick also said shipping lines also increased prices by 128% between the first quarter of 2020 and 2022, forcing growers to pay twice as much to ship their produce.
Chadwick also warned that the regulations passed by the EU requiring exporting African countries to implement mandatory cold treatment for exports would further hit the industry hard.
"These new regulations recently saw up to 1 350 containers of citrus detained at EU ports for a number of weeks which resulted in local growers incurring over R20 million in losses," he said.
Chadwick said the cold treatment requirement was arbitrary and unnecessarily trade restrictive.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was expected to have consultations with the government on the regulations.