UK citrus fruit war in the offing
Regional councillor cries foul over proposed tax on Valencia’s satsumas, oranges and lemons
THE VALENCIA government is up in arms over a proposal by the UK to apply large taxes to citrus fruits which are exported to Britain from January 1, 2021.
Councillor for agriculture Mireia Mollà called on Wednesday for the Spanish government to intervene ‘following the announcement that the UK will levy import duty’ on the fruits.
Sra Mollà voiced her ‘indignation, worry and rejection’ over the measure, noting that the UK is the fourth most important destination for the region’s farming produce.
She stated that the British government ‘is threatening’ to levy import duty of 16% on satsumas, clementines and hybrid fruits – and the initial 3.2 % for oranges ‘will presumably be increased to reach 10%’.
The figure for lemons has been set at around 6%, she added.
The councillor said the measures which will come with Brexit ‘will be another hard blow for citrus farmers, who are already struggling’.
Sra Mollá has written to both minister for farming Luis Planas, and tourism and industry minister Maria Reyes Maroto, asking them to take action to ‘prevent the great damage that this will cause’.
She told them that 9% of the Valencia region’s citrus fruit exports go to the UK, which is a total of 247,300 tonnes.
“This import duty could signify the loss of the British market for our farmers, as has happened with the US due to the duty imposed by the Trump administration,” she added.
Sra Mollà noted that this would only benefit countries such as Morocco, South Africa and ‘especially Egypt which does not pay duty’ in the UK.