On November 29, the General Administration of Customs of China announced that the Asian country had approved the entry of fresh lemons from Uruguay. With this announcement, China lifted the restriction there has been on these imports since 2017 when it allowed access to the Chinese market for other Uruguayan citrus fruits, excluding lemons. As a result, from now Uruguay can export all citrus fruit categories to China.
Currently, Uruguay has some 15,000 hectares devoted to citrus cultivation and a total annual production of 271,000 tons. Oranges lead production accounting for 40% of the total, followed closely by mandarins and tangerines with 35.5%. Lemon production accounts for 23.5% of the total, and grapefruits and other varieties account for the remaining 1%. Uruguay exports approximately 45% of its total citrus production and is Latin America's second-largest citrus fruit exporter.
Uruguayan citrus fruits are mainly exported to Europe, Asia, the United States, Brazil, and Canada. Thanks to its location in the southern hemisphere, Uruguay can provide counter-seasonal citrus to the Chinese market, with lemons available from May to November and oranges from the end of May to the end of November. Other citrus fruits such as mandarins, tangerines, and grapefruits are available from the end of May to the end of November.
According to the GACC announcement, China has identified a total of seven quarantine pests of concern. These pests are the South American fruit fly (Anastrepha fraterculus), the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata), the rose beetle (Pantomorus cervinus), the vine mealybug (Planococcus minor), a plant pathogenic fungus (Elsinoë australis), and two species of mealybugs (Ceroplastes rusci and Coccus perlatus).
The orchards that seek to export fresh citrus fruits to China must adhere to good agricultural practices and integrated pest management techniques.
The announcement specifies that citrus fruits destined for China must come from Mediterranean and South American fruit fly-free growing regions or undergo cold treatment during transport to eliminate any larvae. Specifically, lemons must undergo cold treatment at a temperature of 3 degrees Celsius or lower for at least 24 days.
Source: simfruit.cl