Deals May Aid Local Citrus Growers

Although President Clinton and Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji failed to reach an agreement that would have allowed China into the World Trade Organization, they did manage to sign an accord that could mean big things for Ventura County citrus growers.

In a deal reached Thursday, China agreed to allow U.S. citrus exports into the country for the first time.

Also, trade representatives have received approval from India to allow into the country citrus from the United States, which together with China opens a potentially lucrative market of more than 2 billion consumers.

“This really could not have happened at a better time,” said Bob Pinkerton, local grower and member of the Saticoy Lemon Board. “The door has been opened and there’s now some room for us to make some real headway.”

According to preliminary estimates from the Sunkist Cooperative, the deals could mean as much as $100 million in additional sales for state growers in just the first year.

Although no date has been set on when the exports will begin, most expect a start within months.

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China has long been waiting to gain entry into the World Trade Organization, but because of the country’s trade barriers as well as a series of recent controversies--including alleged human rights abuses, charges of nuclear espionage and allegations of political tampering--its bid was denied.

The Geneva-based trade organization sets world trade rules and arbitrates disputes between trading partners.

But in a sign that China has not abandoned its 13-year odyssey to gain entry into the global trade body, a less expansive agreement was reached that will lift the country’s bans on U.S. beef, wheat and citrus.

“It’s a big step for us,” said Claire Peters, spokeswoman for the Sunkist Cooperative, which markets citrus on behalf of 6,500 domestic growers. “China is a huge market. India is a huge market and we believe that region has tremendous opportunities for us.”

But it will come at some cost.

According to unconfirmed reports from trade representatives, the Chinese agreed to import U.S. citrus at a 41% tariff, which could substantially increase costs for both producers and consumers. But over five years, the tariff would be rolled back to 12%.

Similarly, India imposed tariff restrictions of about 51% on citrus. There was no indication the rate would be scaled back any time soon.

Local growers said any opportunity to gain entry into two of the largest and most restricted economies in the world should be seized, regardless of cost.

“I don’t think it could have happened at a better time,” Pinkerton said. “With the group of buyers shrinking I tend to feel we really needed a new market opening up and it looks like it has.”

Growers said getting China and India to agree to loosen their markets was a long process that took years and reached the highest levels of government.

In addition to state and national representatives weighing in with the concerns of their grower constituents, both the secretaries of commerce and agriculture as well as Clinton helped persuade the two countries to open their doors.

As the process became more politicized, the concerns of local growers over market access became bargaining chips in China’s negotiations with the United States on World Trade Organization entry.

In the agreement reached Thursday, China received guarantees that trade negotiators will work to gain that country admission by the end of the year.

Global trade and competition have been an issue of great importance to local growers over the past year.

Argentina’s petition to allow the country to begin exporting citrus to the United States has concerned growers across the country who worry that foreign imports could harbor crop-destroying pests such as the Medfly and citrus canker.

Some Argentine growers have theorized the sanitary standards of Argentine fruit are being used as a pretense masking a fear of increased competition.

U.S. growers disagree and say they are confident the quality of their citrus is enough to keep them the dominant players in the market regardless of the competition.

The growers, however, don’t want it to appear they favor foreign trade only when it benefits them.

“We’re not talking out of both sides of our mouth when it comes to global trade,” Pinkerton said. “There are just a great deal more issues involved. . . . We certainly don’t mind the competition, we just don’t want any of these pests.”

Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, said while the news of an agreement was encouraging, he was going to wait to see if what was announced makes its way into practice.

“I can see a lot of pitfalls along the way,” he said. “The agreement seems fragile and could be hurt if there’s more rattling in Congress about spying or human rights.”

Details of the export arrangements still need to be worked out, but growers and trade officials expressed hope the first boatload of citrus could be on its way by summer.