Dec 5, 2013
USDA weighs risks of Chinese apples

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently released a draft pest risk assessment covering fresh apples from China. The assessment, which weighs the risks of allowing imported Chinese fresh apples into the U.S. market, is open to public comment for 30 days. The comment deadline is Jan. 3, 2014.

To view the assessment, click here. For information on making a comment, click here.

China’s fresh apple industry has been trying to crack the U.S. market for more than 13 years, said Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission.

In August 2012, China closed its borders to all U.S. apple exports. Before that, Red and Golden Delicious had been the only fresh varieties from the United States allowed inside China, Fryhover said.

The U.S. industry has been working to reopen the Chinese market ever since. In December, the Northwest Horticultural Council reported that negotiations between APHIS and its Chinese counterpart had made “good progress towards establishing the technical framework necessary for more open trade in apples between the two countries.”

A new trade agreement could lead to “renewed, and perhaps, expanded access” for U.S. fresh apples to China, according to the council.


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