Chile and China have officially signed a protocol allowing Chilean citrus to be exported to the Asian nation.
According to a SimFRUIT report, five fruits, lemons, mandarins, clementines, oranges and grapefruits, are included in the protocol.
Negotiations for the protocol originally began in November 2018 and were concluded at a signing ceremony on 5 December 2019 attended by Ni Yuefeng, minister of the General Directorate of Customs of the People's Republic of China, and Luis Schmidt, Chilean ambassador to the People's Republic of China.
Horacio Bórquez, national director of Chile’s Agricultural and Livestock Service, said this decision reiterates Chile’s reputation as a high-quality exporter.
“This opening reaffirms the phytosanitary status of excellence that our country has, which allows Chilean products to reach the most demanding markets in the world,” Bórquez toldSimFRUIT.
“(This reaffirms) the trust of our Chinese Customs counterpart that has allowed the opening of five species of export citrus fruit at once.”
The negotiating process is reported to be one of the fastest Chile has undertaken and Ronald Bown, president of Asoex, told SimFRUIT China would quickly become a major destination for the country’s citrus.
“Weare very enthusiastic about the signing of the protocol authorizing the entry of our citrus fruits to the Chinese market,” Brown said.
“This opening will allow us to export our citrus fruits to China from next season and expand our offer of fruits to the Chinese market;a market that we estimate will become our main destination in the medium-term.”
