The European Commission (EC) has decided to increase the entry controls for citrus consignments from Brazil after they found the harmful organism Phyllosticta citricarpa (McAlpine), known as 'black spot', in a significant number of the inspections they carried out in 2018.
According to the Execution Decision 2019/449, which modifies Executive Decision 2016/715, the EC believes they should "strengthen the requirements for the introduction of these fruits originating from Brazil."
"In order to guarantee that the specified fruits originating in Brazil are free of this specified organism, they must be subject to the same import inspection requirements that Argentina, South Africa, and Uruguay have," the text states.
To date, the Brazilian citrus shipments that were going to enter the EU had to have a phytosanitary certificate and a complementary declaration confirming that the production area where they were grown had no signs of Phyllosticta citricarpa since the last vegetative cycle.
From now on, Brazilian citrus fruits, as well as Argentine, Uruguayan, and South African citrus fruits, "will be subjected to a visual inspection at the point of entry or at the place of destination" and "a minimum of 200 fruits of each species for every 30 tons imported will be sampled."
This measure, which is in accordance with an opinion of the Standing Committee on Vegetables, Animals, Food and Animal Feeding, expires on March 31, 2022.
Source: EFEagro