The General Administration of Customs of China released an updated quarantine protocol on Aug. 31 that officially eased cold treatment requirements for South African lemon exports.
The revised protocol between South Africa and China was signed originally on June 18. It states that, as of August 31, cold treatment requirements for lemons is a minimum of 3° Celsius (measured based upon the internal temperature) for not less than 18 days. The previous protocol was bilaterally signed in 2006. South African citrus exports had to be cold treated at or below -0.6 Celsius for 24 days to kill insects eggs and other harmful organisms.
Justin Chadwick (CEO of the Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa) explained the significance of this new development in an interview with Produce Report:
[Increasing the treatment temperature] is very important for lemons as they are a fruit that is susceptible to cold damage at low shipping temperatures. … Until now very few lemon consignments have been exported to China due to the disinfestation treatment requirements. It is anticipated that this change will result in increased exports of lemons to China – where the demand for lemons is good. It is also anticipated that South Africa will send some shipments of lemons to China under this revised protocol in 2021 as a precursor to larger volumes in 2022.
South Africa is a major lemon supplier in the world. However, lemon exports from South Africa to China were hampered by low temperatures, making them more susceptible to damage and decay. Although non lemon citrus exports from South Africa reached 130,000 metric tonnes in 2020, South Africa exported only 151.5 tonnes of lemons that year. This accounts for less than 0.3% of South Africa’s total lemon exports.
Chadwick, on behalf of the CGA, thanked China Customs and South Africa’s Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, for finalizing the revised protocol.
A Relaxed Protocol is in Effect for South African Lemon Exports To China
