South Africa lodges WTO complaint against EU over citrus fruit rules

South Africa has launched a WTO dispute complaint against the European Union concerning measures imposed by the bloc on South African citrus fruit imports, a WTO spokesperson said.

The country’s request for dispute consultations with the EU was circulated to WTO members on Friday, the spokesperson added.

South Africa is challenging recently enacted changes to EU phytosanitary requirements for imports of oranges and other citrus products related to the pest Thaumatotibia leucotreta, or false codling moth, the WTO statement said.

“South Africa claims the EU measures appear to be inconsistent with various provisions of the WTO’s Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994,” it added.

This is the first-ever WTO dispute settlement case initiated by South Africa.