Table Grapes From 3 Central Asian Countries Granted China Market Access

On May 29, the General Administration of Customs of China issued three notices on its website announcing that table grapes from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan meeting the stipulated phytosanitary requirements would be permitted for import into China.

The quarantine pests of concern include the European grapevine moth (Lobesia botrana), apple mussel scale (Lepidosaphes ulmi), malicious mealybug (Peliococcus turanicus) and San Jose scale (Diaspidiotus perniciosus) for table grapes from Tajikistan, the European grapevine moth (L. botrana), apple mussel scale (L. ulmi), malicious mealybug (P. turanicus), fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea) and long-tailed mealybug (Pseudococcus longispinus) for table grapes from Kyrgyzstan, and the European grapevine moth (L. botrana), apple mussel scale (L. ulmi), malicious mealybug (P. turanicus) and verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae) for table grapes from Uzbekistan.

The phytosanitary protocols stipulate that orchards intending to export table grapes to China must establish quality management and traceability systems. They should also adhere to good agricultural practices and integrated pest management techniques. Processing operations conducted by the packaging plants, from sorting to shipping, must be overseen by the responsible governmental bodies or their authorized agents.

Prior to export, the responsible governmental body in each country or its authorized agents are required to take random samples of 2% of table grapes bound for China to check for the presence of the pests of concern. The required sampling rate will be reduced to 1% if there are no quarantine problems for two years.

The GACC has stated that it is currently working to promote smooth trade between China and the five Central Asian countries. Efforts have been made to facilitate the flow of people and goods at China’s border crossings with these countries, and cargo volumes at certain land ports have even exceeded pre-pandemic levels. At present, over 100 agricultural and food products from Central Asian countries are eligible for export to China, with 4,000 companies having been approved to deal with these exports.

In addition, the GACC has reportedly opened eight green channels for agricultural and sideline products from Central Asia, with each border crossing having at least one such channel.

Image: Pixabay

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