Chinese sanitary authority approves entry of Peruvian citrus fruits
After intense negotiations,the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People＇s Republic of China (AQSIQ) authorized the entry of five species of Peruvian citrus fruits to the Chinese market, the National Agricultural Health Service (Senasa) announced Tuesday.

"After working meetings and interchange of technical opinions, citrus products join grapes and fresh mango, which already have access to the Chinese market," indicated the agency.

Among the Peruvian citrus fruits with permission to be commercialized in the Chinese market are the grapefruit (Citrus paradise); mandarin orange, tangerine, and other hybrids (Citrus reticulate); orange (Citrus sinensis); sutil lemon (Citrus aurantiifolia); and Tahiti lemon (Citrus latifolia).

This authorization was a result of the signing of the Peru-China Understanding Memorandum for the phytosanitary cooperation, promoted by the minister of Agriculture (Minag), Ismael Banavides.

The document was signed the last week of June with the purpose of discussing phytosanitary access of the citrus fruits.

"This new trade opportunity for Peruvian citrus producers represents an incentive to improve and enlarge their cultivation fields, because they have a great international market guaranteed", indicated Senasa.

The agency reported the negotiation had difficult moments, in special, at the time of discussing the entry of the sutil lemon and Tahiti lemon.

However, the sustenance, justification, and technical foundations presented by Peruvian group＇s technical staff changed the position of the AQSIQ, achieving the inclusion of this two fruit species in the Protocol for Peruvian Citrus Exports, without requiring cold treatment.