China and Indonesia to sign fruit and veg trade agreement

“China has planned to sign a mutual recognition agreement to simplify fruit and vegetable procedures with Indonesia later this year,” according to Suswono, the Minister of Agriculture in Indonesia.

China will be the fifth country to sign this agreement with Indonesia after the United States, Australia, Thailand and New Zeeland. The agreement facilitates easier fruit import and export from China to the port of Tanjung Priok, Indonesia's biggest port.

China and Indonesia have also renewed a protocol on inspection requirements of Indonesian salak for the Chinese market. After the discovery of a heavy metal contamination in February all export of salak was suspended.

Total export of Chinese fruit and vegetables reached 600 million dollar in 2011. In 2012, 198,000 ton mandarins and 129,000 tons apples were exported from China to Indonesia. This January and February, China exported 16,000 tons mandarin to Indonesia, a significant decrease from the 71,000 ton exported in the same time span a year earlier.