Sicily oranges

© Daisuke Sakaguchi / Flickr.com

Italy's Minister of Agriculture, Luca Zaia, has hailed what he described as a 'siginficant result' in negotiations to open the Chinese market to Italian citrus exports.

Speaking this week following an official visit to China last week, Mr Zaia confirmed he had met with theDeputy Minister of China's General Administration of QualitySupervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), Pu Changcheng.

'We have obtained a commitment from the Chinese authorities to send their inspectors to Italy to verify the suitability of our citrus for export to China,' Mr Zaia revealed. 'In this way, we have opened another important outlet for our food exports to the Asian country.'

According to the Minister, Pu Changcheng has personally guaranteed the Chinese government's commitment to sending its inspectors, which will be the first step towards opening the way for citrus exports to begin.

Following a well-publicised agreement to allow Italian kiwifruit exports to China in July of last year, the withdrawal of non-tariff duties on citrus could provide further impetus to Italy's agri-food exports to the Asian giant, Mr Zaia hinted.

'This is also a significant result in terms of our country's marketing profile and, in particular, that of our southern production regions,' he added.

The news comes at a difficult time for Italian citrus, Mr Zaia admitted: 'I think of all the oranges that remain unharvested on trees in the south, while the sector faces a grave crisis, a crisis which might lead to significant social conflict, as shown by the events in Calabria in recent days.'

Mr Zaia was referring to Italy's worst ever race riots, which occurred this week when immigrant workers employed on citrus farms reportedly clashed with police and local residents in Rosarno, Calabria.

Speaking about the marketability of Italian citrus and other fruits in China, Mr Zaia said he saw a bright future ahead.

'Our farms produce quality, something which it is worth paying for in strategic markets like China,' he argued. 'They offer an added value, namely the quality and wholesomeness of our food products, things to which China is paying increasing attention.

'This was underlined by Deputy Minsiter Pu Changcheng during our discussion, in which he also reconfirmed his country's commitment to strengthening the dialogue on fighting counterfeiting and agricultural piracy.'