A group of leading Spanish citrus growers has claimed the EU environment committee’s approval of new pesticide regulation proposals could pose “serious difficulties” for the fight against pests in citrus production in the future.

The Valencia-based Provincial Federation of the Farmers of Castellón (Fepac-Asaja Castellón) claimed that the new phytosanitary standards were “unacceptable” and had ignored “any objective and scientific opinions”.

The condemnation was made at the fifth annual meeting of Fepac-Asaja Castellón held this week in the northern Valencian town of Nules, according to Panorama Actual.

Fepac-Asaja claimed the move would bring “serious difficulties in combating a number of specific pests that affect citrus production in a direct manner”.

The association called on Spain’s representatives in the EU to represent the views of the country’s citrus sector during the forthcoming legal procedures that stand before the formal approval of the pesticide proposals.

In keeping with the views of other leading Spanish fresh produce associations, Fepac-Asaja also slammed the Spanish government’s plans for reorganisation of the country’s citrus sector as “insufficient”.

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