The Valencian Farmers Association (AVA-ASAJA) has raised alarm about the "disturbing" spread of Texas Citrus Mite in Spanish orchards, which has caused considerable damages in certain areas, leading to blurred coloring and silvery spots on fruit.

The association said the pest was previously limited to specific parts of Andalusia and Alicante, but its presence was detected in the Valencian comarca of Safor from the fall months through this summer, as was verified by the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research (IVIA).

Technical teams from AVA-ASAJA have also noted populations of the mite in citrus orchards in Ribera, Camp de Morvedre, L'Horta, Camp de Túria and Hoya de Buñol.

"We are therefore facing the proliferation of a new citrus pest in our territory which part from the losses that it will generate in harvests, will result in an added cost for growers who have the misfortunate of finding it on their farms, because they will have to start acaricide treatments to try and fight it," AVA-ASAJA president Cristóbal Aguado said.

The mite's first sighting on the Iberian Peninsula was in Portugal in 1999, and it has slowly spread since then. The first finding on Spanish soil was in 2001 in the province of Huelva.

"The spread and proliferation of this pest shows the lack of effective control from the authorities to curb the entry of new diseases in agriculture," Aguado said.

"We are tired of informing about this situation but the European Union continues to look the other way, and puts the commercial interests of the northern countries above the detriment of southern agricultural interests."

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