Dive Brief:
- A deal is believed to be at hand that would allow California growers to ship citrus to China. The USDA is reported to have agreed to new safety protocols.
- China has not yet officially agreed to the arrangement, but reports suggest that the delay is only a formality.
- Details are sketchy, but the new protocols would include avoiding low-hanging fruit, copper treatments for trees and the use of additional materials in post-harvest washing.
- Imports to China were abruptly halted in April after phytophthora syringae, known as brown rot, was detected on oranges during an inspection in China.
Dive Insight:
China's actions in April surprised some in the industry if only because brown rot was not part of any specific safety protocols agreed to by the two nations. But the disease, which spreads when spores from the ground splash onto plants during rainstorms, does not exist in China. And no one should be surprised that China doesn't want that to change.
We're glad to hear that the two countries have apparently found a way to keep the disease out of China while letting California citrus in. Given that some 11 million cartons of citrus are sold to China each year, the negotiations seem like a good use of USDA's time and resources...unlike the silly marketing efforts aimed at Japan.
