South African avocados are celebrating their second win: the country has gained market access for its avocados to Japan.
“Due to the cold steri requirements, we will have to send fruit with high dry matter content,” explains Clive Garrett, marketing manager at avocado producer ZZ2.
“This means we will only be able to send avos later in our season, approximately during July and August, obviously depending on how the fruit tests.”
Media reports based on communication from the department of agriculture misleadingly created the impression that South African avocados had been placed under a ban by Japanese authorities by using the word in the sense used by the latter (everything is banned until it is allowed).
Banning in the English sense is not meant here: South African avocados have never been traded with Japan.
"There never was any ban. We simply didn’t have access which has now been granted," he says.
For more information:
Clive Garrett
ZZ2
Tel: +27 15 395 8548
https://www.zz2.co.za/