French Kiwi Berries Permitted To Enter China

Kiwi berries, a bite-sized relative of kiwifruit without the fuzzy exterior, are native to China. The fruit has varieties with skin colors in green, pink and purple and boasts a high level of sweetness and a strong fragrance similar to a mixture of kiwifruit, passion fruit and pineapples. In recent years, kiwi berries have become a hot fruit item whose prices always hover at high levels because of their unique appearance and rich flavor.

Kiwi berries from New Zealand have previously been imported into China, despite lacking official permission from China Customs. On March 11, 2016, however, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine issued a warning notice declaring the suspension of imports of the fruit from New Zealand.

Recently, China’s General Administration of Customs announced via its website that fresh French kiwi berries meeting the stipulated phytosanitary requirements would be permissible for import into China, making France the first country formally approved to export the miniature fruit to China.

According to the GACC announcement, orchards wishing to export fresh kiwi berries to China must adhere to good agricultural practices and integrated pest management techniques. The list of quarantine pests of concern includes Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata), fig wax scales (Ceroplastes rusci), spotted wing drosophilas (Drosophila suzukii), latania scales (Hemiberlesia lataniae), European grapevine moths (Lobesia botrana), Egyptian cotton leafworms (Spodoptera littoralis) and the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae.

All French kiwi berries destined for China must undergo cold treatment for at least 14 consecutive days at a pulp temperature of 1.1 degrees Celsius or below, at least 16 consecutive days at a pulp temperature of 1.7 degrees Celsius or below, or at least 18 consecutive days at a pulp temperature of 2.1 degrees Celsius or below.

French kiwifruit are available on the market from late October to June. Approximately 75% of France’s kiwifruit production takes place in southwestern regions of the country, where the oceanic climate, fertile soil, and clean water and air provide ideal conditions for kiwifruit cultivation. On account of these positive factors, one of the key advantages for French kiwifruit is that they rarely suffer from pest risks or plant diseases during the growth period and consequently require almost no pesticides or insecticides.

Image: Pixabay

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.