Zimbabwe is finalizing preparations to start fresh citrus exports to China, following virtual inspections done by the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) last month.
John Basera, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, said Zimbabwe is now finalizing its post-inspection report for submission to China in the next few days. He told Xinhua:
Zimbabwe is finalizing preparations to export citrus fruits to China by clarifying queries arising from the virtual inspections done by China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) in August.
He said some of the queries are related to:
1). the use of orchard numbers as opposed to production unit code to improve traceability,
2). strengthening pest and disease management in the field and at pack houses to minimize infestation of harvested citrus,
3). clarifying the cold treatment of citrus destined for China.
Basera said Zimbabwe intends to sell oranges, lemons and grapefruits to China, for the time being.
Zimbabwe has the advantage of good natural conditions that are beneficial for producing cheap, sweet and juicy citrus.
The country’s marketing period is also different from the domestic citrus market in China, which can meet a certain demand in the Chinese market.
Zimbabwe’s trade promotion body, ZimTrade, has since welcomed the move by China to allow imports of Zimbabwean citrus fruits, saying this will help Zimbabwe diversify its export markets.
The Zimbabwean government is currently working on scaling up horticulture production to meet the growing demand for citrus fruits worldwide.
Early this month, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube launched a US$30 million horticulture export revolving fund to help farmers boost production. This was after reports that citrus production had declined over the years.