The Regional Government calls on Madrid to halt South African citrus imports

A repeated request

The Valencian regional government, through Miguel Barrachina and Marian Cano, has sent a new letter to minister Carlos Cuerpo, released on 22 September 2026, in which it insists on activating the safeguards provided for in the trade agreement between the European Union and South Africa. According to the council, a first letter sent on 2 February of that same year received no response from the central Government.

Import volumes soar

Data from La Unió de Llauradors shows that, up to July, the 2025/26 campaign totalled 169,904 tonnes of small South African citrus fruits, compared with 78,170 tonnes in the 2020/21 campaign. The figure has grown year on year—93,020, 106,668, 120,920 and 148,497 tonnes in the intervening campaigns—leaving an accumulated increase of 117% over five years and a current volume that exceeds the average of the last five years by 55.2%.

Alert over pests

The council warns of the risk of citrus black spot and false codling moth entering the Valencian Community. Between January and July 2026, there were 15 interceptions of black spot in shipments from South Africa, almost double the 8 recorded in the same period of 2025.

Orange under the spotlight

South African orange accounts for almost 38% of all non-EU citrus imports in the EU, with 324,983 tonnes. Its entry is tariff-free between 1 June and 15 October, with a progressive elimination of the levy until 30 November, a schedule that overlaps with the harvest of early-season Valencian varieties.

A trade agreement under review

The Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in force since 2016, provides for the possibility of applying safeguards if serious market disruption occurs. According to a report from La Unió de Llauradors, total imports of South African citrus have grown 83% since 2016, with a 303% increase in mandarins and clementines, and the farming organisation argues that these small citrus fruits do not receive the same tariff treatment as oranges under the agreement.

The impact on Marina Alta

In Dénia, the town hall plans to invest 1.5 million euros in an Agrarian Park with orange trees, lemon trees and grapefruit on land previously dedicated to citrus cultivation, an initiative that also affects agricultural areas in Ondara, El Verger and the Xàbia plain. According to the Marina Alta Observatory, the agricultural sector has lost almost half its businesses in the last decade, to the point where almost 93 out of every 100 businesses in the comarca now belong to the services or construction sectors.