Fruit from unregistered orchards or packaging plants will be
barred from export starting November 1, a senior quality control
official said yesterday.
Fruit exporters will also be required to keep records on the
origin, volume and destination of each batch of fruit they ship for
at least two years, Yu Taiwei, director of the animal and plant
quarantine department of the General Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), said.
He also said during an online interview that the administration
had required inspection and quarantine departments across the
country to advise orchards and packaging plants on the use of
agricultural chemicals, and the prevention and control of harmful
organisms.
"Fruits are important, sensitive products in international
agricultural trade, so we shall try our best to ensure their
safety," Yu said.
The move marks the first time the authorities will require all
fruits destined for export to come from registered orchards and
packaging plants. Currently, only those exported to North America,
South America, Europe, Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand,
and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions meet
this standard.
"However, there've been some quarantine problems involving
fruits exported to Russia recently, so we've decided to expand the
rule to fruits bound for all countries and regions," Yu said.
He said the move was also part of a national campaign on food
safety and product quality that started late last month.
Under AQSIQ requirements, registered orchards must be larger
than 7 hectares and located at a certain distance from sources of
pollution. They should also have sound management systems and be
free of major agricultural diseases for the preceding two
years.
Packaging plants should be clean and have access to stable fruit
supplies from registered orchards.
Figures from the Ministry of Agriculture show the country
exported 3.7 million tons of fruit last year, about the same as the
previous year. However, the value of the goods shipped hit US$2.5
billion, which was up 22 percent year-on-year. The US, Japan and
Russia were the country's top three trade partners, with apples,
oranges and fruit juice as the major products.
Yu said the administration had also urged inspection and
quarantine departments across the country to upgrade facilities and
improve work to prevent unsafe fruit from entering the country.
They must also establish a blacklist of illegal importers and
exporters.
Official figures show that more than 1.25 million tons of fruits
entered China last year, up 9.9 percent over the previous year,
with bananas, oranges, grapes and kiwi fruits as the most popular
goods.
(China Daily September 21, 2007)