Trade promotional body ZimTrade has stated that Zimbabwe’s citrus exports to the EU are likely to be affected by new pre-cooling requirements put in place by the bloc and also present opportunities to diversify markets, which will ensure continued exports for farmers in the subsector. The EU is Zimbabwe's largest importer of its citrus fruits.
In its March newsletter, ZimTrade said as of 14 July last year, the EU gazetted that for the first time, imports of citrus fruit must undergo specified mandatory cold treatment processes and pre-cooling steps for specific periods of up to 25 days of cold treatment before importation.
These processes must be conducted in the exporting country before the consignments are shipped. ZimTrade said the measure will affect citrus exports, as companies are still in the process of installing the pre-cooling systems as it is also a requirement for the export of citrus to China under the new citrus protocol.
Source: chronicle.co.zw