The regulations were published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Tuesday

New rules requiring cold treatment for orange imports from South Africa will come into force on 24 June.

Oranges

Oranges

The regulations, which were published in the Official Journal of the European Union this week, state that from Friday, all imports departing from countries affected by False Codling Moth must have the new phytosanitary certificate indicating that their oranges have been grown in an authorised place (previously communicated to the Commission).

The exporter must also prove that they have complied with the temperature set out in the new rule, both in the precooling phase and during the cold treatment itself.

Orange consignments shipped prior to 24 June will be exempt from such requirements if they arrive in Europe before 14 July.

The regulations require a precooling to 5oC at origin and a treatment in transit at -1oC to 2 oC degrees for 25 days.

From 2023 exporters will be able to choose from two options: a cold treatment between -1oC and 0oC for 16 days or between -1oC and 2oC for 20 days. In both cases, the operators would be required to precool at 0oC and 2oC, respectively.