Avocados from Peru will have access to the potentially lucrative Chinese market from July after the country’s Minister of Agriculture Juan Manuel Benites signed an agreement with the head of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (Aqsiq)Zhi Shuping, who was in Peru to sign the historic deal.
The news follows six years of intense negotiations between the two countries and could in theory pave the way for China to grant Peru access for other fresh fruits, such as blueberries and pomegranates.
Accompanied by officials from Peruvian food safety agency Senasa and other members of the country’s fresh produce export trade, Benites met with Shuping and colleagues from Aqsiq to sign the new deal.
As a result, according to the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture (Minagri), the country’s annual avocado export sales are expected to increase from US$30m to US$50m, with new production facilitating the increased volume of trade.
The agreement is expected to result in additional planted area being established in Peru, with Minagri predicting there would be around 500,000ha of new land dedicated to agricultural exports by 2012, significantly more than the 300,000ha previously planned.
Benites added that his talks with Shuping had led to an initial agreement on the proposed entry of other items into China, including blueberries and pomegranates, with access likely to be granted “in the short term”.
Both ministers agreed to strengthen relations between Senasa and Aqsiq and continue bilateral meetings with a view to promoting trade in other products between the two countries.
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