Europe Edition
After China’s announcement earlier yesterday that it had suspended imports of mangoes from Taiwan with immediate effect, the Ministry of Agriculture said it would take up the matter with the WTO’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Committee.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said in Beijing that Chinese customs officers had detected citrus mealybugs in mangoes from Taiwan, which she said pose a ‘severe threat’ to China’s agricultural and ecological security. Chinese officials informed Taiwan of the decision via official channels set out in a cross-strait agreement governing quarantine inspections for agricultural products, Chinese state media reported.
In Taipei, the Agriculture Ministry criticized the suspension as unwarranted and out of step with international trade standards. It said it had not received any such complaints from other export destinations.
Source: taipeitimes.com
