Pretoria claims EU tariffs on its fruit exports are ‘unjustified’

Date: 22/02/1996

A PLUM is a plum is a plum. Unless you're Italian, and the plum is arriving on your market duty-free all the way from South Africa.

Even though South Africa's plums grow in different months from Italian ones and its apples are only on supermarket shelves alongside French fruit for a couple of weeks, EU governments have imposed import tariffs on most South African produce.

Take the case of last year's plums.

In Italy, they grew from December 1994 to April 1995; in South Africa from May to October. When they arrived in UK shops, Italian ones cost 1.3 ecu per kilogram; the South African variety cost 1.8 ecu per kilogram.

The price difference is explained by the fact that, even though South African plums accounted for less than 1&percent; of the market share (in 1994, the then 12-nation EU imported 11,282 tonnes of plums from South Africa, and produced 1.2 million tonnes itself), they faced import duties of nearly 8&percent;. Peaches, nectarines and apricots were even harder hit, taxed at 21.3&percent; and 24.2&percent; respectively.

South African trade officials insist the tariffs are unjustified. “We don't pose any threat to EU producers,” said one. “We are off the market when their product is on.” They also point out that where there is some seasonal overlap, such as in apples, the EU fixes minimum entry prices which raise the foreign product's price enough to make the domestic one cheaper.

Most European consumers are familiar with South African fruit because of two powerhouse companies, Cape and Outspan, capable of competing anywhere. But the rest of the country's producers are on small, often-arid and inefficient farms. Severe water shortages threaten South African agriculture constantly.

South African wine production is at the limit of capacity and, even at their highest, the country's exports represent a tiny portion of what France alone produces.

All this, say the South Africans, means their products should be studied on a sector-by-sector basis before decisions on tariffs are made. “We want an objective look at our products - how much we produce and when they're on the market,” said the trade official.

South Africans also dismiss suggestions that their fruit exports harm EU trading partners in the Mediterranean, pointing out that the latters' growing seasons are closer to those of Spain and Italy. “We don't even compete with Morocco and Tunisia,” said a trade official.

Noting the EU regimes allow North African goods to compete with EU goods within historic absorption levels, the official added: “It is discrimination not to give us a similar chance.”

South African trade officials say that while 70&percent; of EU imports enter at low prices negotiated especially with privileged partners, many of their products face the same competitive rules in Europe as those from the US, Canada and Japan.

But Commision officials say it is not South Africa that EU nations distrust, it is the cumulative effect of a whole generation of free trade agreements.

“It's not the number of apples coming in from South Africa that's the problem,” said one. “It's much bigger than that.”