Fresh Indonesian Pineapples Gain Official China Market Access

On Aug. 15, Indonesian pineapples became the latest in a spurt of new fresh fruit items permitted for import into China. A Chinese-language announcement from the General Administration of Customs of China recapped the contents of the phytosanitary protocols for fresh pineapples agreed upon between China and Indonesia and formally granted permission to import pineapples meeting the requirements laid out therein.

As is typical in China’s bilateral phytosanitary protocols, the GACC’s counterpart, the Indonesian Agricultural Quarantine Agency, part of the country’s Ministry of Agriculture, is required to register pineapple plantations and packing facilities that wish to export to China. These plantations and facilities must then be approved by the GACC, which will publish the approved lists on its website.

Among the eight pests of concern listed in the protocols are the gray pineapple mealybug (Dysmicoccus neobrevipes), papaya mealybug (Paracoccus marginatus) and citrus mealybug (Planococcus minor). Plantations registered to export pineapples to China are required to implement good agricultural practice and integrated pest management plans to minimize the risk of infestation with these pests. Packing facilities, meanwhile, are required to carefully clean the fruits to remove soil, seeds, insects and other residual materials from the exterior of the fruit. The IAQA is further required to conduct random sampling of a specified minimum amount of each shipment of pineapples bound for China to check for pests, including conducting fruit dissections to uncover fruit-boring insects.

Indonesia, which has two pineapple harvests per year, is one of the world’s leading pineapple producers, with output continuing to rise in recent years. In 2021, Indonesia’s pineapple production hit 2.92 million tons and pineapple exports reached $336 million. Export destinations include the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Canada, Kuwait and South Korea.

Prior to pineapples receiving formal market access, only five other types of Indonesian fruit were permitted to enter China: bananas, longans, mangosteens, snake fruit (salak) and dragon fruit. Indonesia had been working on gaining permission to export fresh pineapples to China since 2016.

After a slowdown during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the GACC has recently been announcing a steady stream of new fresh fruit approvals. Since July, China has opened up its market to Zimbabwean citrus, Ecuadorian dragon fruit, Vietnamese durians and Egyptian pomegranates. Market access is also anticipated to be granted soon for Cambodian longans.

Image: Pixabay

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