State’s Citrus Growers Ask U.S. Caution on Imports

WASHINGTON â€”  This winter has clobbered citrus growers like Rod Radtke in eastern Fresno County. First there was the freeze in late December that destroyed two-thirds of his orange and lemon crop. Now comes the freeze-out from the bureaucracy in Washington.

Despite high-level intervention by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and other members of the California congressional delegation, Radtke and other growers could not persuade the federal government to delay public hearings on an issue that they call vital to their industry: whether to allow lemons, oranges and grapefruit from Argentina into U.S. grocery stores.

Growers charge that the imported fruit could carry destructive pests and crop diseases onto American soil. But the Clinton administration, seeking to encourage free trade in citrus and other markets, rejected their pleas. U.S. Department of Agriculture officials denied a request to put the matter off for two months while state growers scramble to salvage what they can from a freeze that caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

So today, Agriculture Department officials plan a hearing on the issue in Thousand Oaks. A sizable contingent of California officials will be on hand to advocate safeguarding an important sector of the state’s agricultural economy from such plagues as citrus canker, citrus black spot, sweet orange scab and the ever-troublesome Mediterranean fruit fly.

So will Radtke.

“One of the things I’m most puzzled about is why they’re in such a hurry to do this,� Radtke said. “I mean, they’re supposed to be working for us, protecting us. What on earth the USDA has to gain by throwing open the doors to Argentina I can’t figure out.�

Healthy Crops Seen as Key Issue

The growers say that their arguments have nothing to do with protectionism and everything to do with preserving healthy orchards that produce crops worth about $2.6 billion a year.

For their part, federal officials say they are still open to suggestions on ways to improve the safety of Argentine imports. They are not open to needless delay, officials say.

“We have made every effort to be sure we are protecting the U.S. citrus industry,� said Isi Siddiqui, a deputy undersecretary of agriculture in Washington and a former high-ranking California agriculture official.

Improving trade ties with Argentina is part of a broader U.S. strategy to loosen trade restrictions throughout North and South America. President Clinton, who last month hosted his Argentine counterpart, Carlos Menem, at a White House state dinner--and tangoed with the wife of Argentina’s economic minister--has championed free trade ever since he took office.

As always when international trade policy is at issue, there is the threat of retaliation. If the United States refuses to allow the Argentine citrus imports, federal officials suggest that Argentina and other countries could take a harder line toward U.S. exports. Argentina, Siddiqui said, is on the verge of easing rules to allow U.S. pork into its country. “We believe in free markets,� he said, “and we would like to have Argentina open up its markets to us.�

Argentina has long campaigned to allow its oranges, lemons and grapefruits into the lucrative U.S. market. In recent years, the South American nation has increased its efforts to show that major growing regions are free from infectious diseases and pests that could disfigure fresh fruit and render it unmarketable.

Five years ago, the Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service surveyed four key provinces on the northwest edge of the country near the Tropic of Capricorn and the borders with Bolivia and Chile: Catamarca, Jujuy, Salta and Tucuman.

Last August, after years of haggling over the details, federal officials published a report concluding that the four provinces were free of citrus canker, a disease that has recently afflicted some Florida groves. But other risks remained. So U.S. officials proposed that the four Argentine provinces take several measures, such as chemical treatments and refrigeration, to assure that black spot, sweet orange scab, medflies and other fruit flies be kept out of fruit shipments.

But a group of growers, mainly from California, claims that the federal officials have not shown enough evidence that the measures are adequate. Creating a new lobbying group called the U.S. Citrus Science Council, they are planning to send their own scientists to inspect the Argentine industry. And federal officials, apparently eager to settle the matter, say that they stand ready to help such an effort.

To be sure, U.S. growers have economic motives to protest the proposed imports. Ventura County lemon growers, a leading force in the industry, acknowledge that Argentina--with lower wages and production costs--could pose a significant challenge to their market share.

But Pierre Y. Tada, a Santa Paula grower who has been organizing opposition to the import plan, said that he and his peers are unafraid of competition. After all, Tada said, U.S. growers must accept imports if they want access themselves to foreign markets. They just do not want exotic diseases to spread to their own orchards.

Tada’s efforts paid off. Boxer and other Californians on Capitol Hill went to bat for the growers. Last fall, they won a four-month reprieve--and, according to Boxer, a promise for an additional two months, if needed. Then the freeze hit, throwing the state citrus industry into chaos. Growers said they needed those two extra months.

In a Jan. 25 letter to Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, Boxer wrote: “Given the pressure now bearing down on California citrus growers . . , I sincerely hope you will grant this extension. Growers have already suffered tremendous losses and they are anxious to ensure that the department’s Argentine citrus proposal does not lead to further losses through pest infestation.�

But Glickman denied the request last week, although his subordinates said that they would review any credible new scientific data on the issue, even if growers are too busy to send it in until after the Thursday deadline for public comment.

Boxer, in a statement from David Sandretti, her communications director, said that she is “very disappointed� in the agency’s decision.

But Rep. Cal Dooley (D-Hanford), who also had called Glickman on the growers’ behalf, said Friday that he understands why the federal agency is moving forward so quickly.

“Argentina is one of our strongest allies, one of the few countries that is actively promoting the reduction of agriculture tariffs internationally,� Dooley said. “I think USDA was hesitant to potentially offend one of our real allies, unless they felt there was overwhelming scientific grounds.�