Taiwan has said it may scrap cold treatment as part of its import protocol for Australian stonefruit if the country does not make use of the biosecurity measure.
According to a report by the ABC, Australian stonefruit growers and exporters are keen to see cold treatment remain an option for export to the potentially lucrative Asian market.
Taiwanese officials, however, have said if Australia fails to use the treatment method again this year it will remove it from the protocol.
Cherry Growers Australia chief executive Simon Boughey told the ABC it was in talks with Taiwanese quarantine officials regarding the decision.
'What we're trying to do is point out to them that it's not because growers don't want to send fruit, it's the weather that's been the deciding factor on whether we send high quality fruit into Taiwan or we don't send any fruit at all. One of the storage facilities approved last year was all ready to go and then they got their whole crop wiped out.'
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