In the last week of August, the National Health and Agricultural Food Quality Service (Senasa) and its South Korean counterpart finalized the agenda of inspection activities for the phytosanitary certification of Argentina, so that the South American country can ship fresh oranges to the Asian country during the 2017-2018 season.
Inspector In Suk Namgung of the National Plant Quarantine Service (QIA) of the Republic of Korea and SENASA technicians certified, between June and August, the shipment of fresh orange from productive establishments in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Entre Rios, and Corrientes.
The main objective of this joint work plan between the Senasa and QIA -which was agreed on in 2010- is cooperation on phytosanitary inspection and the beginning of the cold quarantine treatment in transit. In this last season, they certified 16 containers with a total of 350 thousand tons.
SENASA is responsible for preventing the presence of diseases dictated by the South Korean phytosanitary service and in charge of guaranteeing that the shipments comply with the traceability measures from the field to their export, among other things.
"It is important to have the inspector's comments on our certification system to adjust those control points that need to be strengthened. In general terms, the inspector praised the professionalism of Senasa in the execution of the controls agreed with Korea," said Martin Delucis, the head of the Phytosanitary Certification Department.
In 2017, Argentina produced 78,971 tons of orange, and this fruit's exports were only surpassed by pear and lemon exports. The main destinations were Paraguay, Spain, and the Netherlands. The production of this citrus fruit is concentrated in the provinces of Entre Rios, Corrientes, and Jujuy.
Source: elonce.com