The Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the US Department of Agriculture has granted acess to fresh apples from China to be imported to the US.
APHIS released its new import regulations for Chinese apples on 22 PARIL, granted access to all varieties grown in areas free from Oriental fruit fly, and has allowed imports of apples grown in areas of China that are impacted by Oriental fruit fly, as long as the apples are fumigated and refrigerated.
The announcement comes after China granted access for all US-grown apples, after an agreement was reached between APHIS and its Chinese counterpart AQSIQ in January this year.
Concerns that importing apples from China may affect domestic apple trade have been quelled by an APHIS report released on the Federal Register, which states that no more than 10,000 tonnes expected to be shipped to the US mainland annually.
“Based on historic data of China’s apple production, consumption, export volumes, and prices, we expect no more than 10,000 tonnes of fresh apples will be imported from China into the continental US annually, which represents less than 0.44 per cent of the US domestic fresh apple supply and less than 5 per cent of US imports in 2012,” stated the report. “Most of China’s fresh apple exports to the US will likely be shipped to West Coast ports, primarily ones in California, and are expected to be distributed through Asian ethnic supermarkets mainly to Asian communities.”
China is the world’s largest apple producer, but exports only around 3 per cent of its apples, according to APHIS, while the US, the world’s second largest apple producer, exports around 30 per cent of its crop.
