The Californian strawberry industry’s decade-long bid for access to mainland China could soon be over with officials from the General Administration of Quality, Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in China recently announcing the initiation of a draft import protocol.
In a media statement, the California Strawberry Commission said the announcement was an important milestone in a long process of negotiating access.
“We are honoured that the Chinese have allowed California to be the first location in the world to ship strawberries to China,” said Rick Tomlinson, president of the California Strawberry Commission (CSC)
With the draft import protocol now agreed, the next step will be for Chinese officials to visit California for a final inspection in the spring, according to the CSC, which anticipates that shipments could begin in the summer.
The CSC believes California strawberry imports will complement domestic production in China to help drive the overall growth of the country’s strawberry category.
“China has significant domestic strawberry production, but their production usually ends during the month of May,” said CSC’s media statement “Just as the Chinese season end, California is reaching peak production.”
The California industry has sought market access to the Chinese mainland for strawberries since 2006. Although some shipments were allowed for supplying the 2008 Olympics, where athletes requested them, progress toward that goal had been frustratingly slow.
Japan continues to be the largest offshore market for California fresh strawberries. According to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Japan imported 4,635 tonnes of strawberries from the US (likely all California-grown) in 2015, down slightly from the year before.
Japan has averaged approximately 4,900 tonnes annually since 2011 since there is steady demand from the confectionary trade. Hong Kong, Thailand and Taiwan are also significant international markets for California strawberries.
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