Following recent talks, South Korea and Australia have agreed to work together to implement import protocols for table grapes, which could see fruit traded between the two countries in 2011.
Australian Table Grape Association CEO Jeff Scott told Fruitnet.com the two countries are working quickly to try and establish mutually acceptable protocols.
There is still much work to do, however, and Biosecurity Australia will have to be confident adequate controls are in place to prevent the incursion of any pests from Korea, he said.
“Biosecurity Australia and its Korean counterpart will be exchanging technical information and from there they will be working toward an acceptable protocol,” Mr Scott commented.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done, and scientific data to be exchanged and accepted, before quarantine and control measures can be put in place.”
If Australia gains access to the Korean market, it could land grapes in the country by November or December next year, said Mr Scott.
“Potentially it `the market` could be as big as other competing Asian markets. It would likely be around 5,000-10,000 tonnes a year.”
South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that at the trade talks Korea also asked for the easing of quarantine inspections on Korean pears that have been exported since 1998, and the lifting of trade restrictions on chestnuts from that country.
