"Also the repeal of the measure approved in 2016 in the European Parliament for the reduction of tariffs and extension for the importation of citrus fruits from South Africa to the European Union because the serious damage that this is causing to Spanish producers has been revealed"
Recently we have seen through the media, the serious consequences of the agreement adopted by the European Union regarding imports of South African citrus fruits.
More specifically, this measure, against which we have submitted a motion in 2016 since Ganar Totana, is having a very serious impact on citrus farmers in the southeast of Spain, including the Region of Murcia, as well as the Guadalentín valley.
Although in 2018 Spain has managed to stay ahead as a citrus exporting country, South Africa "is on our heels" consolidating in second place since it saw its export conditions improved by means of an agreement of the European Parliament in 2016, in which it was collected an expansion of the import of the South African product into the EU, as well as a progressive reduction of tariffs.
As of that moment, the losses of the Spanish sector are increasing every year.
This situation makes it very difficult for citrus to survive in our region and puts the work of thousands of farmers, as well as collectors and / or those who participate in the chain of transformation of the product, in serious danger.
This commercial measure of support for the importation of South African oranges, which was supported by the Popular Party MEPs and the abstention of the Socialist Party, is not only clearly detrimental to our producers, it also affects us as consumers, since it does not guarantees the quality or phytosanitary treatments that in the EU are very severe to ensure an optimal state of the products that arrive at our table.
In these last two years, we have witnessed that the worst omens came true and that this agreement, which we have already dismissed as a serious mistake, can end in a few years with all the Spanish citrus producers abandoning their activity.
Since they can not assume the high production costs of a quality citrus according to the standards set by European regulations, to later suffer unfair competition, having to sell at prices much lower than what would be fair, and even losing whole harvests.
For all this Ganar Totana raises a motion to the plenary session so that the City Council of Totana expresses its absolute rejection of the measure approved in 2016 in the European Parliament for the reduction of tariffs and the extension of citrus imports from South Africa to the European Union. have shown the serious damage that this is causing to Spanish producers, leaving them in a clear situation of disadvantage before which they can not compete and demand from the European Parliament and the Spanish representatives in said institution the repeal of the agreement and the taking of measures immediate to alleviate the damage done to the citrus producers.
