China sells first Spanish plums this week

The first container of Spanish stonefruit sent to China, which was exported by the Campo y Tierra del Jerte company, arrived at the port of Shanghai on August 17. After undergoing a thorough phytosanitary customs inspection process, the fruit will be put on sale for the first time today. 

The cargo, a shipment of the PrimeTime plum variety, came out of the packaging plant of Campo y Tierra on July 22 and departed the port of Algeciras on July 27. 

"We are very satisfied in being the first European company to reach the Chinese market with stonefruit," said Domingo Fraile González, the manager of Campo y Tierra del Jerte. "This confirms that we've done a good job in the pre-harvest, production, post-harvest, as well as in the commercial work we've developed attending Asia Fruit Logistica since 2011. It's been a long process that has taken more than 4 years but it has finally paid off," he added.

The fruit will be distributed in the wholesale market in Shanghai and then to the importer's customers. "Since this is the first shipment of Spanish fruit to arrive in China after the protocol authorizing exports was signed, the inspection process was very thorough and took about a week," the exporter said.

"We are now waiting to see how the Chinese consumers react and what the results of this experience are. We hope it becomes a big market for us. If consumers are satisfied, we will send larger volumes and other varieties," he stated.

The next step is sending cherries, another representative product of this company. "We are also working with the Spanish authorities so that we can send cherries to China. We believe the Spanish cherries could arrive in good conditions to that market, just like the Chilean or American cherries do. This would be very important for our sector after important markets in Eastern Europe and North Africa closed," said Domingo Sunday. 

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