China has announced it will no longer accept Californian citrus imports, citing six reported cases of phytophthora syringae, or brown rot, as the reason.
Officials have stated that all shipments of Californian citrus produce currently en route to China will be accepted provided their phytosanitary certificate was issued prior to 17 April. From 18 April, they will not issue any more phytosanitary certificates.
“As of today, everything stops,” Nick Naseri, a buyer with Dalian Yidu, told Asiafruit.
The president of the California Citrus Mutual, Joel Nelsen, said that no clear warning had been sent prior to the announcement and described the industry as “scrambling to figure out what we can do to address the situation.”
Although the Californian citrus season is drawing to a close, there are still five to six weeks of late navel varieties currently left to harvest, according to Naseri.
“The growers are looking to whatever other Asian export markets they might be able to ship their produce to,” said Naseri. “Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia are some of the options. The Hong Kong market is also still open.”
Despite these options, Naseri says growers with fruit still on the trees that had been intended for China are highly likely to lose money.
“Those with produce on the water may actually make more money, as theirs will be the only produce to meet the Chinese demand for US citrus,” he added.
China receives approximately 5 per cent of the US’ total citrus exports. In 2012, this amounted to 50,000 tonnes.
US exporters and Chinese importers are hopeful that this move does not represent a precedent for future Chinese bans on US imports.
“The US cherry season is due to start shortly,” Naseri said. “Growers are looking to start shipping as soon as next Monday or Tuesday. All we can do is hope that there won’t be any problems there.”
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