New Zealand apple exports to China have been voluntarily suspended while the industry works with officials to resolve the issue of post-harvest rot, which was detected on three consignments of apples to the People’s Republic.
In a statement yesterday (25 September), New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries said the rot, which was caused by the fungus Neofabraea alba, does not post a food safety risk, but has been identified as a quarantine pest by China for plant health reasons.
“The New Zealand government and apple industry are working with Chinese quarantine officials to provide all the technical and scientific information about N. alba that they have requested,” said Stephen Butcher, Ministry of Primary Industries’ (MPI) manager of import and export plants.
Representatives from MPI and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have met with their counterparts from China’s General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in Beijing and discussions are ongoing.
“It is important that AQSIQ is given the technical information they need to assess the risk of the pathogen being brought into China. These kind of notifications happen from time to time in international trade, MPI and Chinese officials are working collaboratively to resolve the matter,” said Butcher.
Chinese authorities have identified that the consignments came from a small number of production sites and packhouses in the Hawke’s Bay, without being specific. “[They] have requested that apples from those sites be suspended from exporting to China. This is not targeted at all apple exports to China,” added Butcher.
The New Zealand industry has responded by suspending all apple exports to China for the remainder of the season. The impact will be negligible because the season is virtually over, with only a few containers still on the water bound for export markets.
China is a relatively small but growing market for New Zealand apples, with a value of NZ$15m out of total worldwide exports worth $400m, according to Pipfruit New Zealand figures cited by Radio New Zealand.
