Are Pakistani cherries soon to be found in Chinese market?
Pakistani fruits have stirred China's market for months. While thePakistan mango festival was held in China's southern provinceGuangzhou at the end of July, some businessmen are waiting for more details about China's import on the fruit items from Pakistan.
Mango, mandarin, and orange are the three items on China Allowable Imported Fruits List for now. Media said there are all possibilities that China will soon starts importing cherries from Pakistan.
Chinese delegation's field visit Reports in July said a delegation of Chinese quarantine experts and government officials visited the Gilgit-Baltistan region (Pakistan's northern regions) eyeing for the luscious cherries.Gilgit-Baltistan produces 4,000 metric tons of cherry per season. Due to thelimited local consumption, the farmers there are looking for more buyers. However cherry is easily perishable fruit, local media said Pakistan has been looking for nearby destinations to import cherry.China is a neighbor country to Pakistan. And the Chinese usually have great appetites for fruits. For old days, China imports cherry from South American countries. As for now, China seems have an ideal partner to import these exotic fruits within a shorter distance."China wants to gain market access for cherry from Gilgit-Baltistan – something which it didn't have access earlier," said Ministry of Food Security the Directorate of Plant Protection Department Deputy Director Shahid Abdullah, according to the local newspaper The Nation.China's first step to import Pakistani cherriesChina's efforts to promote the field visit and inspection and quarantine of Pakistani cherry is the first step towards the goal of exporting the perishable fruit, saidWang Zhihua, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of Chinese Embassy in Pakistan.The Pakistani side has expressed the idea that the Chinesedelegation returned home satisfied, reported China Economic Net (CEN). Pakistani cherry acquiring access to the Chinese market would be a major breakthrough, the local media made the remarks.The Chinese delegation would remove hurdles to cherry imports from Pakistan, said G-B Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GBCCI) President Imran Ali, stressing they have assured to boost the cooperative process and wouldrecommend to Chinese government to import Pakistan's cherry.Concerning to the transportation, The Nation said shipping containers carrying cherry would be sent by road via Sost dry port on the China-Pakistan border.No deliberate restrictionsBefore the export formally starts, Pakistan and China should complete the pest risk analysis (PRA), an international requirement, Abdullah said.There is no deliberate restriction on the entry of Pakistani cherries into China as long as the standards are met, said a deputy to the National People's Congress this March. Many countries want to export cherries to China, said the deputy, stressing the fruits must meet three criteria which are strict inspection and quarantine standards, competitive price, and similar cherry seasons.On the preferential tariffs that China may give, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood said this April that cherry is on the list.Increase on Pakistani fruits exportThe export of Pakistani fruits increased 4.34 percent during the first 11 months of fiscal year (2018-19) against the corresponding period of last year.According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the exports on fruit were recorded at 393.945 million US dollars during July-May (2018-19) showing a growth of 4.34 percent.In terms of quantity, the export of the fruits witnessed an increase of 9.88 percent from 672.371 tons to 738.806 tons.The local media said China is undoubtedly the country's most important fruit export market without further detailed arguments.
