There is an insect called the False Codling Moth - true or false?
True!
An insect that goes by this name is now at the centre of an an international trade dispute between South Africa and the European Union. The False Codling Moth (henceforth FCM) infects a range of fruits, especially citrus and is perfectly adapted itself to Global Warming (unlike the original Codling Moth) and a range of climatic zones. It is the fear of FCM infestation that has recently driven the EU to put up stricter measures to prevent its spread into Europe.
About 3.2 million cartons of citrus worth about 605 million rand ($36 million) is now rotting in European ports because of a change in rules that happened even while the fruit containers were on their way to the northern hemisphere. In face of a growing apprehension that its own horticulture may be affected by this moth, EU wants all citrus consignments from South Africa to go through a freeze treatment - an expensive add-on in the supply chain that makes the exports more expensive, and perhaps economically unviable for the African farmers.
This is not very different from the dilemma faced by Indian mango exporters. Different countries demand different post-harvest treatments before they allow imports of mangos - hot water treatment, vapour heat treatment or irradiation. Japan, UK and EU countries do not allow import of mango without vapour heat treatment - again an expensive process for small farmers.
So ultimately, the irony - countries that produces that produce the best variety of citrus or mangos are unable to export it to the very markets that pay the best rates.
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REFERENCES & LINKS
* SA oranges to EU - https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/tonnes-of-fruit-stranded-in-eu-south-africa-battle-of-oranges/
* Constraints in mango exports from India - http://indianecologicalsociety.com/society/wp-content/themes/ecology/volume_pdfs/1651904681.pdf
* https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/managing-fruit-fly-in-mango/article7130611.ece
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_codling_moth
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codling_moth
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