China is open to the idea of restarting Philippine banana imports, reports www.abs-cbnnews.com.
China's vice president Xi Jinping is understood to have told the Philippines interior secretary Mar Roxas during discussions this week (25 September) that his country would consider lifting its ban on the fruit.
"They said that this was part of their SPS or sanitary-phytosanitary protections for their domestic industry. Nonetheless, there was some mention of their continuing to be open to importing Philippine bananas. There was no talk at all about volumes, timetables, or such," Roxas said.
China banned bananas from the Philippines in March, citing bug infestation. This was a month before a standoff over the Philippines' ownership of the Scarborough Shoal took place.
