General Customs Administration Releases Access Protocol for Colombian Bananas and Limes
Recently, the General Administration of Customs of China issued an announcement regarding phytosanitary requirements for imported Colombian bananas and lemons, allowing the import of fresh Colombian bananas and fresh Tahiti lemons (limes) that meet the relevant requirements. Colombia must provide a list of registered orchards and packaging plants to China before each export season, which will be published on the Customs General Administration website after review and approval.
Colombia is the world's fifth-largest banana exporter and has long been granted customs access. This announcement further details the quarantine requirements. However, due to unstable high-quality sources, high maritime transportation costs, and fierce market competition, large-scale exports to China have not been realized.
Limes are Colombia's third-largest fresh export fruit after bananas and avocados, with Tahiti Lime being the most widely cultivated variety, capable of stable year-round supply. This variety has thin, seedless skin, is fragrant and juicy, with small fruits that lack bitterness, suitable for fresh consumption, juicing, and beverage production.
The announcement specifies that only unripe bananas with uncracked peels are permitted for import. China's focus on quarantine pests includes spiraling whitefly, banana gray mealybug, pineapple gray mealybug, parallel scale, Jack Beale's mealybug, thorny scale, seven-star wax scale, and Banana Bacterial Wilt Strain 2.
If bananas are found from orchards or packaging plants not approved by China, the shipment will be denied entry. If mature or cracked-peel bananas are discovered, they will be destroyed. If Banana Bacterial Wilt Strain 2 is found, the shipment will be re-exported or destroyed. If other quarantine pests, new quarantine pests from Colombia, or live organisms, branches, leaves, and soil are detected, the shipment will be returned, destroyed, or treated. If the shipment does not meet Chinese food safety national standards, it will be returned or destroyed.
For lemons (limes), China's quarantine pest concerns include pineapple gray mealybug, elm white scale, oceanic mealybug, thorny scale, and claw mite. If