Shipments of Peruvian citrus to Japan could get underway in 2015 according to the Andean country’s plant and animal health authority Senasa.
The organisation’s Luis Aquino Campos said it is working on securing access for a number of different varieties. Trials are currently underway to evaluate the effects of cold treatment on satsumas and are due to be completed in May.
“A group of technicians from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is due to visit Peru in May to validate the trials and if everything is in order they will subsequently authorise imports of satsumas,” he said.
Negotiations on gaining access to the Brazilian market are said to be at an advanced stage and awaiting the conclusion of the pest risk analysis and creation of a final import rule, which would then have to be approved by the Brazilian authorities.
Aquino said Senasa is also working on opening up several other Asian markets for Peruvian mandarins, notably South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and New Zealand. The organisation also has the Argentine and Uruguayan markets firmly within its sights, Aquino added.
Meanwhile, Senasa is in talks with the USDA’s Aphis in a bid to extend access to the US market for citrus grown in a number of new production zones. Currently, only fruit grown in Piura, Lambayeque, Lima, Ica and Junin can be shipped to the US, but Aquino said access could soon be granted for production from La Libertad, Ancash, Tacna, Moquegua, Arequipa, San Martín, Huánuco, Pasco and Huancavelica.
Although Peru has phytosanitary agreements in place with 45 countries, it only exported citrus to 32 countries in 2013 as companies opted to target their offer only on those markets paying the highest prices.
