Spain: Entry and propagation of the false moth would affect 26% of citrus production

The Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA) reported that in July the European Union (EU) made the first detections of the false moth (Thaumatotibia leucotreta) quarantine pest in citrus fruits from South Africa destined for the market European. The plague was found in a shipment of oranges and another in grapefruit. In this regard, the president of AVA-ASAJA, Cristóbal Aguado, indicated that "these interceptions show that the measures established by the EU are insufficient for South Africa to stop importing this dangerous plague." Aguado calls on Brussels to "harden" the cold treatment (the mechanism that prevents the entry of the false moth) to South African citrus, making "the cold treatment approved for shipments of oranges be strictly complied with and that it be extended tangerines and grapefruits because they entail the same phytosanitary risk”. In the month of July, South Africa led the world ranking of interceptions of pests and diseases, with 16 detections in ...