Apple's Import Country Adds One! Customs General Administration Approves Entry of Dutch Apples
According to available information, the apple cultivation area in the Netherlands has continuously declined, dropping from 15,000 hectares 26 years ago to 5,220 hectares in 2024. The annual apple production in 2024 is approximately 197,000 tons, of which about 43% (84,000 tons) are Elstar varieties, followed by Jonagold and Jonagored varieties (45,000 tons), Kanzi varieties (15,000 tons), and Rode Boskoop varieties (9,000 tons). 85-90% of Dutch apple production is sold domestically, with exports accounting for a very small proportion.
The announcement indicates that before each export season, the Dutch side should provide updated lists of registered orchards and packaging plants to the Chinese side, which will be reviewed, approved, and published on the General Customs website.
The quarantine pests of concern to the Chinese side include fruit yellow roll moth, apple borer, gray round shield scale, plantain round-tailed aphid, peach white round shield scale, apple woolly aphid, apple leaf wasp, elm oyster shield scale, apple stem gall aphid, apple weevil, pear thrips, pear fire blight bacteria, fruit chain nuclear disc fungus (apple brown rot), stone fruit chain nuclear disc fungus (apple brown rot), apple bull's eye fruit rot bacteria, chestnut mildew black water bacteria, lilac mildew, and apple black spot fungus.
Orchards exporting to China should establish and implement Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), maintain orchard hygiene conditions, remove rotten fruits during harvest, and execute Integrated Pest Management (IPM) measures. Before processing, production lines must be cleaned. During processing and packaging, apples must be water-washed, sorted, graded, and have inferior fruits removed to ensure the fruit is free of insects, mites, spiders, contaminating pests, branches, leaves, roots, and soil. Packaged apples must be stored separately to prevent reinfection by pests.
Within the first two years of trade, the Dutch side should sample 2% of each shipment of apples exported to China, with a minimum sample size of 1,200 fruits, an