EU weighs delisting four citrus pests from priority quarantine list

EUROPE – The European Union is close to finalizing its revision of the priority plant pest list under Regulation 2019/1702, proposing to add nine quarantine pests and remove four citrus threats, according to the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

In March, the JRC and EFSA, the two official bodies advising the European Commission, completed an updated economic, social and environmental impact assessment of the 46 main organisms already regulated as quarantine pests, aiming to define a new ranking to replace the current top-20 priority list.

The assessment included certain forestry and agroforestry pests, invasive species not previously considered, and a review of the criteria and estimated damage for those evaluated in 2019, suggesting that the list could be significantly revised.

The new proposal suggests adding nine quarantine pests: three affecting forestry, three affecting cereals and herbaceous crops, and three affecting vegetables, including tomatoes.

However, if the list is not expanded to avoid additional expenditure, an equal number of pests would lose priority status. The proposal states that four of them directly affect citrus and many other fruit crops.

Those four are citrus black spot (Phyllosticta citricarpa) and three fruit fly species: the oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis), peach fruit fly (B. zonata) and Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens).

Nevertheless, the Citrus Management Committee (CGC) rejects this option, arguing that delisting these pests would mean that member states would no longer be required to monitor them. Therefore, the CGC argues that the list should be expanded, not reduced.

“Without early detection and with fewer resources to eradicate them, it is very likely that these devastating pests will end up establishing themselves in Spain’s citrus and fruit-growing areas,” said Inmaculada Sanfeliu, president of the organization.

Meanwhile, Sanfeliu said EU funds allocated to implementing the regulation are clearly insufficient. In the most recent period when such measures were co-financed, in 2023 and 2024, the EU budget totalled barely €8 million (US$8.7 million) across all 27 member states, according to the CGC.

Finally, compared with estimates from EFSA and the JRC, that figure is negligible, indicating that potential losses from the establishment of the four citrus pests that could be delisted would amount to as much as €5,736.88 million (US$6.2 billion), of which €2,490 million (US$2.7 billion) would be attributable to the fungus alone.

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