The Ministry of Agrarian Politics has just given the green light for exporting kiwis to South Korea. The official announcement was sent by CSO Italy a few days ago. The company managed it all. A Korean inspector tested our fruits orchards and plants, from the 3rd to the 7th of December 2018. This new export is precisely a result of that visit.
The export of Italian kiwis in Korea for the 2018/2019 campaign is financially supported by ICE – Agency for the promotion and internationalization of Italian companies, together with the Ministry of Economic Development. This is aimed at facilitating the phytosanitary inspections necessary to open those markets where these kinds of barriers prevent exporting Italian produce.
The companies that accepted to be inspected were the Co.Fru.Ta PO, Ceradini, Consorzio Frutteto and Apofruit Italia.
The initiative ended with a final meeting in Mipaaft where the Italian kiwi’s strengths were highlighted.
The Korean inspector remarked the excellent organisation and confirmed the standard for plants management which meets the two countries’ requirements. Moreover, the inspector was very happy with the state of the fruit orchards and the way they were managed, especially regarding the technical assistance.
At the same time, the modalities through which fruit cold treatment should be carried out were pointed out.
Korean inspectors need to give a pre-clearance to Italian cell cold treatment. Therefore, it is clear that for the 2018/2019 campaign the cold treatment will be carried out on the move.
This kind of treatment will probably be taken into consideration for the 2019-2020 campaign – if exporters are interested and are willing to take care of the costs.
For the next years, Italian authorities asked for an exemption from the visit before the exporting, as the export has been good for the past 6 years. We are waiting for an answer from the Korean authorities.