Category: Southern Africa

SPS and Food Safety Issues Likely to be Central to US/UK Trade Negotiations

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Summary
Ensuring the UK moves away from restrictive EU SPS requirements is likely to be central to the post-Brexit US-UK trade agreement negotiations. If the UK begins to move away from EU SPS and food safety control systems in relations with the US, this could open up new opportunities for ACP exporters whose market position is coming under increasing pressure from the EU’s new Plant Health Regulation, which is likely to come into force only after the UK is no longer part of the EU Customs Union and Single Market. While the citrus sector is the most obvious area where the ACP would have an interest in initiating dialogue with the UK over the SPS import requirements to be applied in the post Brexit period, a review of the UK’s Plant Health Information Portal suggests the initiation of an dialogue on the UK’s future SPS import requirements could prove useful in a range of other areas where increasingly strict EU wide import requirements are being imposed. Read more “SPS and Food Safety Issues Likely to be Central to US/UK Trade Negotiations”

Is long term EU sugar demand set to fall even more dramatically?

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Summary
There is growing evidence that taxes on the sugar content of beverages are having a proportional effect in reducing sugar consumption. This, along with new technological innovations which could see a similar reduced sugar consumption trend take hold in the food products sector, suggests ACP sugar exporters need to find new high sugar consumption growth markets. This will be complicated by the ongoing efforts of EU sugar companies to similarly identify new market opportunities for sugar exports, efforts which will be given an added stimulus by a ‘no-deal’ Brexit. Read more “Is long term EU sugar demand set to fall even more dramatically?”

COLEACP Warning Highlights New EU Requirements for Retaining Access to EU Market for Chilli and Pepper Exports

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Summary
COLEACP is offering support to ACP producers of chillies and pepper in getting to grips with new EU documentation requirements related to effective treatment against False Codling Moth infestations. While such initiatives are welcome the increasing commercial costs of compliance is likely to progressively squeeze smaller scale producers out of EU market supply chains. This is likely to be compounded by the ongoing EU review of the acceptable minimum residue levels for pesticides applied to a range of fruit and vegetable imports. Read more “COLEACP Warning Highlights New EU Requirements for Retaining Access to EU Market for Chilli and Pepper Exports”

South Africa-EU CBS Dispute Takes a New Twist

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Summary
The discovery of the Citrus Black Spot (CBS) fungal infection in citrus imports from Tunisia could prove a game changer in terms of South African efforts to secure a reduction of the EU’s commercially costly CBS control requirements. This is likely to give added important to discussions with the UK on its’ future SPS control arrangements to be applied under ‘no-deal’ Brexit Continuity Agreements. Removing controls on a citrus specific infection in a context where the UK has no commercial citrus production, alongside a lifting of TRQ restrictions on South African duty free access to the UK market, could help unlock the currently stalled UK-SADC EPA Continuity Agreement negotiations. This would be particularly the case if such a move signalled the UK governments’ willingness to respond more broadly to the changed trade realities which a ‘no-deal’ Brexit will give rise to. Read more “South Africa-EU CBS Dispute Takes a New Twist”

EU Formally Challenges Application of SACU Safeguard Duties in the Poultry Sector

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Summary
The EC has initiated a process leading to the establishment of an arbitration panel to rule on the validity of safeguard measures taken against EU poultry meat imports under the EU-SADC Group EPA. While many of the EC’s objections are technically correct they ignore the wider context of the evolution of EU poultry meat exports, to which tariff reduction and ‘tariff standstill’ commitments contained in the pre-existing EU-South Africa TDCA made a unique contribution prior to the introduction of SPS related import restrictions in December 2016. With the progressive lifting of these restrictions, the longer term structural trend towards increasing EU exports of poultry meat to South Africa is beginning to re-assert itself. This needs to be seen against the background of concerns a ‘no deal’ Brexit could lead to a huge surge in EU27 poultry meat exports to extra-EU markets. In this context the current EC action can be seen as part of EU ‘no-deal’ Brexit preparations.  As such this raises the spectre of the aggressive pursuit by the EC of the full implementation of nominal EPA commitments, so as to open up new market possibilities for EU27 export sectors facing the prospect of severe trade and market disruptions under a ‘no-deal’ outcome to the ongoing Brexit process. Read more “EU Formally Challenges Application of SACU Safeguard Duties in the Poultry Sector”

Low EU sugar prices lead to calls for greater market transparency

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Summary
EU sugar production estimates have been revised down, with the prospect of a greater market balance and some price recovery emerging. However a ‘no-deal’ Brexit could push 550,000 tonnes of EU27 white sugar back onto the EU27 market, exerting a downward pressure on EU27 sugar prices. In contrast shortages of sugar would be likely to emerge on the UK market which would increase demand for imports of both raw cane sugar and refined sugar from preferred suppliers as well as an increase in UK sugar prices. With spot market prices currently above contracted sugar prices ACP exporters may need to re-evaluate their marketing strategies. However not only is their uncertainty over the basis of the UK’s departure from the EU but also over which existing trade agreements the UK will succeed in ‘rolling over’ by November 2019. The EC is busy preparing for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit in the sugar sector. The ACP Ambassadorial Working Group on Sugar should initiate a dialogue with the EC on the nature of these preparations and the likely implications for ACP sugar producers, given the profound effects EU policy measures can have on the functioning of the EU sugar market. Read more “Low EU sugar prices lead to calls for greater market transparency”

EU Poultry Exports to Sub-Saharan Africa Once Again on the Rise

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Summary
EU poultry meat exports to sub-Saharan Africa are once again on the rise after the shock of the SPS based partial closure of the South African market from December 2016. While growth is likely to continue it is unclear if the very strong growth in the first months of 2019 will be sustained.  This is likely to be critically influences by the outcome of the Brexit process, with a no-deal Brexit creating enormous pressures on both EU27 and UK poultry meat exporters to find alternative markets or over 1 million tonnes of mutual trade in poultry meat. Read more “EU Poultry Exports to Sub-Saharan Africa Once Again on the Rise”

UNCTAD Reviews Impact of Future UK MFN Policy on Low Income Developing Countries

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Summary
The UNCTAD analysis highlights the central importance of future UK MFN tariffs to the value of any ‘rolled over’ ACP preferential access to the UK market. This is an important issue under both a ‘no-deal Brexit and a ‘hard Brexit’. This will require effective ACP lobbying of the UK government to retain in place existing MFN tariffs in areas of greatest interest to ACP exporters. In the country and product analysis undertaken by UNCTAD the importance of triangular trade flows to the UK via the Netherlands is neglected, with this trade also being adversely impacted by any changes in EU MFN tariffs. Read more “UNCTAD Reviews Impact of Future UK MFN Policy on Low Income Developing Countries”

Spanish Pressure for Application of Safeguards Against Imports of South Africa Citrus Fruit Increase Despite Evidence of National Nature of the Current Citrus Market Crisis

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Summary
While Spanish citrus producers continue to press for safeguard measures against imports of citrus fruit from South Africa, EU data suggests the growth of imports from morocco and Egypt has been more significant than the growth in imports from South Africa. Furthermore EU data suggests declines in both EU citrus consumption and EU exports have had a far greater market effect than any increase in import volumes. EU data also suggests the current citrus market difficulties are specific to Spain, the only EU country where citrus prices are below the 5 year average. This strongly suggests that rather than restrictions on imports from South Africa, national action is required to strengthen the functioning of the citrus supply chains and eliminate unfair trading practices along citrus supply chains. Read more “Spanish Pressure for Application of Safeguards Against Imports of South Africa Citrus Fruit Increase Despite Evidence of National Nature of the Current Citrus Market Crisis”

CBS Control Challenge Yields Benefits for False Codling Moth Controls

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Summary
The development of a systems based approach to pest and disease control for CBS is yielding benefits in terms of South African controls of False Codling Moth (FCM). EU FCM interceptions on imports from South Africa were down in 2018, with a far lower level of interceptions than other ACP exporters despite South Africa’s far higher volume of exports to the EU of potentially infected products. Calls for a ‘white list’ approach to FCM related import controls if adopted by the EU could free up scarce pest control resources for deployment in the most vulnerable areas. However development assistance support will be required to ensure small scale producers are not commercially disadvantaged by any moves over to a ‘white list’ approach. Given South Africa’s successful experience there would appear to be scope for the sharing of best pest-control practices across ACP exporters of vulnerable products. Read more “CBS Control Challenge Yields Benefits for False Codling Moth Controls”