Detail

European Union

Oilseeds, oils and meals

Disease \'xylella fastidiosa\'

01/03/2018

Other

Pest control

Provided an update on the disease\'s spread and required all member states to carry out annual surveys for the presence of the disease in their territory.

First detected in the South of Italy in 2013, xylella fastidiosa is regarded as a main threat to European olive cultivation (see also MPPU Jan.’18). Recently, the European Commission provided the following update regarding the spread of the disease: i) Spain, the world’s largest olive oil producer, notified a first outbreak in 2016 in the island of Mallorca; as the pest subsequently spread across the Balearic Islands, in December 2017, the entire territory was declared as area under containment and movement of specified plants out of the Baleares is currently not authorized. In June 2017, the disease was also detected on the Iberian Peninsula, in Alicante (Valencia), where movement restrictions are in place; ii) in Italy, the demarcated area has been updated on several occasions and survey activities are ongoing; in May 2015, the infected zone was declared area under containment; movement of specified plants out of the demarcated area is currently not authorized; iii) in France, authorities reported a first outbreak on the Island of Corsica in 2015; since then, additional outbreaks have been detected in Provence-Alpes-C