Ximo Puig urges Europe to resist pressures and protect Valencia’s citrus fruit

THE President of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, urged Europe on Monday, May 23 not to give in to pressure from South Africa and to protect European citrus fruit trade.

The news comes after an announcement from the European Commission that said cold treatments were to be applied to citrus fruits imported from South Africa and other countries in the area, such as Zimbabwe, to avoid the risk of the ‘false codling moth’ entering the EU.

Mr Puig, who was recently forced to reshuffle the Valencian Community government, addressed Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, to ask him to show “maximum firmness” towards the EU after the Commission withdrew its own proposal to impose the aforementioned plant health control procedure.

The 63-year-old called on EU authorities “not to give in to pressure from South Africa and to put the protection of the plant health of European citrus fruits before interests and considerations of any other kind”.

The Valencian Government president offered Mr Planas “all the Generalitat’s support on this sensitive issue” ahead of the Minister of Agriculture’s meeting with the European Commissioner, in which he hopes to get the EU to reconsider their position on cold treatment.

Puig is set to battle it out with German and Dutch ambassadors to get them to change their position against Valencian farmers after they backed the South Africa proposals.

He will also contact Valencian MEP Inmaculada Rodríguez Piñero to ask her to redouble all efforts in European Parliament “to ensure that the just demands of Valencian and European citrus growers are duly met”.

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