Spain: First fruit shipments by air to China about to depart

"After having certified the production areas and carried out the required inspections, our stonefruit is already undergoing the Cold Treatment required in the export protocol signed with China, which will lead to the fruit being shipped to this destination both by plane and by boat," explained the commercial director of Aguaparis Gestión S.L., Vicente Aguado.

The Valencian import and export company has already prepared peaches, nectarines, Paraguayo peaches and platerines from Lleida for the Chinese market and will soon start working with plums from Extremadura. Later it plans to continue with French produce until it is again able to start working with Spanish citrus.

The exporter recalls that "this year, we have already made some testimonial orange and lemon shipments to China, so we have also resorted to the facilities where we had already carried out the certifications for citrus."

The stonefruit will arrive mainly to Shanghai, from where it will be distributed to various wholesale markets and supermarkets in various regions of China.

According to Vicente Aguado, who is currently preparing the shipments by air, the cold treatment implemented for air shipments is of 16 days at 1 degree Celsius, so it is essential to take into account whether the flight is direct or indirect (stopping in Egypt or Dubai). "Stopping in countries with temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius could jeopardise the product quality," warns the exporter.

 

"This is not a year with a fruit surplus and the European market is currently consuming at the same pace as shipments arrive, which does not motivate us to ship very large quantities to these markets."

Nevertheless, the exporter states that "we are really seeing much interest from Chinese operators, as they tell us that the Spanish fruit meets quality standards well above those of the fruit from other origins during the same harvesting period, while offering also a better presentation."

Within a few days, Aguaparis also expects to start loading its first shipments intended to be exported by sea.