Delay Citrus Import Talks, Gallegly Says

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) called Friday for the postponement of a public hearing on whether to allow Argentina to export its citrus to the United States.

Gallegly asked U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Daniel Glickman to delay the hearing, scheduled for Feb. 8 in Thousand Oaks, to allow California growers time to recover from last month’s freeze and allow for the collection of scientific data on the exportation proposal.

The USDA had scheduled the hearing at the Civic Arts Plaza to hear concerns from local farmers on whether the proposal should move forward.

“The California citrus industry has identified significant concerns regarding the department’s [proposal] and wishes to be prepared to meaningfully participate in the hearing,” Gallegly wrote Glickman on Friday.

“As you know, the recent devastating freeze and resulting agricultural losses have had a tremendous impact on California’s citrus growers,” Gallegly added. “We must allow growers time to get over their immediate crisis before forcing them to divert their energies to fight another problem.”

Last fall, the USDA delayed plans to import Argentine lemons until that nation had developed a plan to eradicate crop-destroying infestations. A hearing on the proposal had been scheduled for December but was postponed until Feb. 8.

Gallegly argued that any potential infestation problem in the citrus imports from Argentina won’t be evident again until April or May, and that it would be best to wait until then to determine whether any eradication plan developed was effective.