Europe puts a damper on organic orange cultivation in South Africa

Published Sep 19, 2022

Tridge summary

South African organic orange growers are facing significant challenges due to a new cold protocol from the European Union (EU). The protocol, which requires fruit to be shipped at 4°C, has led to damage and inconclusively positive results from vegetable wax trials, with some shipments suffering up to 50% damage. Orex Exports, an organic grower-exporter, has experienced damage ranging from 30 to 50%. The Sundays Organic Growers Association (SOGA) and other organic growers had hoped for an exemption from the protocol, but none was granted. The high transport costs have made finding alternative markets, such as Canada, unprofitable. The organic sector is now seeking to prove to the EU that they have implemented sufficient measures against the African codling moth, a quarantine pest.

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Original content

The new cold protocol for oranges from South Africa is an almost insurmountable obstacle for organic orange growers in that country. The results of vegetable wax trials on organic oranges are mediocre and inconclusive: about 50% of the unwaxed orange shipments suffered cooling damage. Orex Exports, an organic grower-exporter in the Orange River Valley, sent organic oranges without wax to Europe in accordance with the new protocol. "The damage was between 30 and 50%, depending on the shipment," says Marthia Botha, marketing manager at Orex Exports. An organic Valencia orchard in the Sundays River Valley (photos provided by SOGA) “The European market accounts for the lion's share of our organically grown oranges, so the new cold protocol has had a devastating effect on our exports to the EU,” notes Paul Marais, director of the Sundays Organic Growers Association (SOGA), which was founded in 2005. founded by a group of organic citrus growers in the Eastern Cape. Ten years ago they ...

Source: AGF