In November 2014, a technical mission of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China [AQSIQ] toured the Argentine pear and apple producing regions to verify the certification program for export being conducted by the National Health Service and Food Quality of Argentina [SENASA] after signing the Phytosanitary Protocol in July 2014.
According to Rionegro.com.ar, a new technical mission from the AQSIQ toured the North Patagonian region of Argentina and their visit lasted until May 8. Given this, Argentine producers and exporters are getting ready to send their first shipment of fruit to China.
According to the technical manager of the Argentina Chamber of Integrated Fruit Growers (CAFI), Daniel Satragni, this would be the first official shipment to the Chinese market, which in turn is considered a trial run, as it will serve to fine tune details of logistics and market behaviour.
"Volumes are not important because it is the first year and what the export sector is doing is testing all the protocols and logistics. That’s what they’re working on and that’s why they’re only sending a few containers, "he said in an interview with freshfruitportal.com.
Satragni said it is a new opening, where a group of companies decided to make contributions to cover the costs involved in the export program.
Specifically, according to RioNegro.com.ar, the companies involved are PAI, Kleppe, Trevisur, Zetone, Expofrut, PFT, Miele and Tres Ases.
"It's a test, it's not about volumes. We are talking about 3-4 containers. It’s a group of companies that have decided to export and we are all learning from this new market that hadn’t been penetrated," said Satragni.
"We are working with the Packham pear variety to see how it is received and what niches can be worked. It is a medium-term program that has been decided upon by the House of exporters," he said.
However, even though there are good prospects for the fruits of Argentina, an important theme is tariffs, as they are still applied on products from the South American country.
"The tariff issue is pending, it is a national policy issue," said Satragni, adding that it is "something that needs to be worked on in the medium term."
"It's part of the evaluation that will be done with this [first shipments] with expectations or prospects of higher volumes," he said.
Finally, the technical manager of the CAFI said it would take the fruit more than 40 days to reach China, as it was being shipped by sea and that it would include a cold treatment in transit.
Font: SM - Infobae