Chilean pears will enter the Chinese market in 2019, following an agreement reached between authorities of both nations.
The Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) and the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile (Asoex) held meetings with the General Directorate of Customs of China (GACC) where, among other issues, they discussed the exports of avocados from areas regulated due to fruit flies and exports of materials associated with electronic certification.
"The SAG, Asoex, and the private sector carried out a careful analysis of pests and control measures in order to achieve progress in these meetings towards a protocol or work plan for the entry of Chilean pears. We hope that, thanks to this serious and coordinated work, and the work carried out by the Chinese authorities, we'll finish this protocol in September of this year, so that we can receive a technical visit of Chinese Inspectors, who will come to Chile to verify the implementation of the protocol and to see if there are things to correct, in December. This would allow us to start exporting our pears to China in March 2019, after a new visit from China's inspectors," said Rodrigo Astete, the Head of the Agricultural and Forestry Protection Division of the SAG.
In turn, the National Director of the entity, Oscar Camacho, said "we hope that this will lead to new business opportunities for the Chilean exporters of pears; reaching the Chinese market is a very significant milestone for our producers due to the great magnitude of this market."
Asoex celebrated the agreement and stated, "we are very satisfied because it is an important advance for the entrance of our pears to the Chinese market. We would like to highlight the coordinated work we've carried out with the professionals from the Agricultural and Livestock Service, and the Chinese phytosanitary agency to achieve this advance in the opening of that market so that, hopefully, we'll be able to start exporting pears to China next season," said Ronald Bown, the President of the association.
At present, Chile exports table grapes, cherries, plums, kiwis, avocados, apples, cranberries, and nectarines to China. In the 2016-2017 season, Chile exported more than 231 thousand tons of these products to China.
Source: publimetro.cl