A public-private mission worked with the phytosanitary entities of China and Vietnam to advance and improve the processes of entering Chilean fresh fruit into those markets.
First they met with the technical deputy director and staff of the Department of Animal and Plant Health and of the Bureau of Food Safety of AQSIQ on June 14 in Beijing, China. This meeting was attended by Rodrigo Astete, head of the Division of Agricultural and Forest Protection from the SAG; Carlos Parra, the agricultural attaché of Chile in China, and Miguel Canala-Echeverria, the general manager of the Fruit Exporters Association of Chile AG (ASOEX).
The meeting focused on several issues, such as the protocol that Chilean nectarines can enter China; the protocol for export of Chilean avocados from areas that are regulated to avoid outbreaks of fruit fly, and the procedure for Chilean exports to China through a combination of air and maritime transit via a third country. In addition they also addressed issues concerning the incorporation of the Metropolitan and Valparaiso areas into the protocols for exports of apples and kiwis from Chile to China, as well as Chilean exports of fresh prunes.
Nectarines, avocados, prunes and new logistics
Regarding the protocol for entry of Chilean nectarines to China, they agreed on various topics related to the management of orchards and quarantine pests, for which they will have to work on the text of the respective agreement.
As for the protocol for exporting avocados from Chile to China from areas that are regulated regarding outbreaks of fruit fly, they discussed aspects related to the russet, the washing of avocados, and presence of peduncle in the fruit.
It's worth noting that Chile presented a new logistics process to export Chilean fruit to China, which uses a combination of maritime-air transit via a third country, so that the Chinese authorities could evaluate it. In this regard, the representatives of the governing body of China were open to accept this new form of export, for which a respective agreement must be signed.
Vietnam
The delegation visited Vietnam on June 17 and met with representatives of the Plant Protection Department (PPD), the Vietnamese plant health authority.
The delegation was made up of Rodrigo Astete, Miguel Canala-Echeverria, Juan Enrique Moya, the agricultural attaché of Chile in Indonesia, and Ricardo Rodriguez, the head of the National Program Fruit Fly SAG.
At the meeting, the Chilean mission discussed technical details on the situation of the fruit fly in the country, highlighting that the recent outbreaks in three regions would not affect Chile's status as a free country, a fact that has been recognized by much of the world .
In this framework, stages and dates were established in order to achieve the lifting of the restriction of import permits for Chilean fruit, for which they agreed that Chile had to present a consolidated report regarding the situation of the Medfly in the country throughout the last two years so that it can be analyzed by the authorities of the PPD.
Additionally, representatives of the PPD will visit Chile before the end of 2016, probably between July and August, so that they can confirm in situ the situation, control and containment work being done.
Meanwhile, Vietnam raised the need to advance the process of entry into the Chilean market for fruits like rambutan, pomelo, and mango.