Italy has achieved a major breakthrough in its efforts to secure access to the United States for its apples and pears, with a new protocol agreement expected to be formed in the coming months that could see trial shipments begin as early as October.
According to representatives of CSO and Assomela, the Italian industry organisations at the centre of negotiations between authorities in Rome and Washington DC, the objective is to ship limited volumes of high-quality Abate Fetel pears from Emilia-Romagna and Golden Delicious, Royal Gala and Granny Smith apples from Trentino to customers in the US east coast's major cities.
That goal now appears in reach. Inspections conducted by US officials last week are understood to have provided USDA agency Aphis with a wealth of information about the suitability, productivity, quality and reliability of specific producer organisations in the two northern Italian regions.
'We hope a plan of action will be signed as soon as possible that will allow us to begin the first exports,' said Assomela director Alessandro Dalpiaz.
Any potential shipments this autumn would remain under tight controls. For example, only a very limited number of exporters will be granted permission to ship apples or pears to the US.
However, Simona Rubbi, who leads the international market access team at CSO, said she was confident that even a slight opening of the US door was a very positive step that offered a good chance of bringing more fruit to the country in subsequent years.
She commented: 'We are hopeful that the pilot project can deliver its first results as early as this next commercial campaign, but also that it can be expanded – with less restrictve conditions – in the next one.'
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