How do imported fruits come to China?

In July, AQSIQ reinstated Thailand's Lianwu import qualification after suspending imports for nearly three years. At the same time, this month, the "list of fresh fruits that have been granted inspection and quarantine access in China and the regions of exporting countries" has suspended the import of fresh fruit from Israel. Why is the import of fresh fruit subject to inspection and quarantine access? Why is the list of access fruits constantly changing?

"the purpose of implementing inspection and quarantine access is to prevent the introduction of foreign quarantine pests and to protect the safety of agricultural and forestry production and the ecological environment in China, which is also one of the exception clauses of WTO." Wu Hao, director of the Biosafety Department of the Animal and Plant Department of the AQSIQ, said.

In order to import fruit across the sea to China, the official plant quarantine department of the exporting country must first submit a written application for export to the General Administration of quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China, and provide the necessary technical materials, such as planting area, orchard management measures, pest prevention measures and so on.

AQSIQ can then initiate access procedures and conduct pest risk analysis. Pest risk analysis includes risk analysis initiation, risk assessment and risk management. "fresh fruits inevitably carry pests such as insects and fungi, especially quarantine pests, which are often easy to introduce but difficult to eradicate." Wu Hao said that risk assessment is to determine whether the pests carried by fresh fruit are quarantine pests, and to evaluate the possibility of their introduction and spread, as well as the potential economic impact.

"where necessary, the AQSIQ may submit requests for supplement, confirmation or clarification of relevant technical information to the quarantine departments of the exporting countries, and send technical personnel to the exporting countries or regions for quarantine inspection." Wu Hao added.

According to the results of the risk assessment, the AQSIQ will put forward a list of pests of concern, that is, a list of pests prohibited from entering the country, and specify the quarantine requirements that should be met in the process of planting, harvesting, processing, storage and transportation of fresh fruit. the pest control measures to be taken, etc.

If the import and export parties agree on the above quarantine requirements, that is, the list of pests and the measures to be taken to eliminate pests, an export protocol will be signed. So far, the fruit has obtained the permission of our country.

In addition, China also implements a registration system for imported fresh fruit orchards and packaging factories, and all orchards and packaging factories that intend to export fruits to China are required to register. "the website of the General Administration regularly publishes the list of registered orchards and packaging factories, and enterprises outside the list are not allowed to export fruit to China." Wu Hao said.

However, imported fruits are not always plain sailing to China. Take Thailand Lianwu as an example, since 2011, the inspection and quarantine department has repeatedly intercepted pest guava fruit flies prohibited from entering Thailand Lotus Fog, so the AQSIQ has decided to suspend the import of Thailand Lotus Wok from June 1, 2012. In this regard, the Thai side proposed to use bagging to prevent lotus fog from carrying guava fruit flies, and to carry out experiments and collect data. "it lasted nearly a year and a half before and after the experiment, during which the General Administration sent a number of expert teams to Thailand to verify the authenticity and validity of the data." Wu Hao said that in addition, the AQSIQ also conducted a trial import at the designated only port twice a month to confirm the effect of the bagging measures. Finally, in July this year, China and Thailand resumed the export protocol. On August 5, AQSIQ updated the list of orchards and packaging plants exported to Thailand according to the new method of production and packaging.

"Inspection and quarantine is a dynamic process, and China will regularly review the protocols signed. At the same time, the AQSIQ will update the list at any time according to the actual situation of import inspection and quarantine and the epidemic situation in various places." Wu Hao said.