There are strong indications that California’s long wait for access to mainland China for its strawberries may soon be over.
The California Strawberry Commission (CSC) told Fruitnet it is optimistic Chinese market approval will be granted this year.
The California industry has sought market access to the Chinese mainland for strawberries since 2006. Although some shipments were allowed for supplying the 2008 Olympics, progress toward that goal had been frustratingly slow.
“We believe approval for market access will be received during the first half of this year to allow shipments of strawberries to China during the California current season,” Chris Christian, senior vice president of the CSC, told Fruitnet.
“There has been no formal approval as of yet and if received, there would be several steps in the certification process to go through before any shipments could take place. But we remain optimistic for this year.”
