On August 8, the General Administration of Customs announced that fresh pomegranates from Egypt that meet the relevant requirements will be allowed to be imported from now on.

The announcement shows that China is concerned about 8 species of quarantine pests, including Mediterranean fruit fly, pomegranate grey butterfly and pomegranate moth. The orchard exported to China needs to detect and control pests through comprehensive management measures to prevent pests from being imported into China.

The General Administration of Customs has made detailed requirements on the packaging of pomegranates exported from Egypt to China. Before packaging, pomegranates must be cleaned, selected and sorted to ensure that there are no pests such as insects and mites, as well as plant residues and soil such as rotten fruits, deformed fruits, branches and leaves, and roots. In addition, the pomegranates transported to China must be subject to cold treatment to ensure that the central temperature of the fruit is 1.67 ° C or below for more than 16 days; Or the center temperature of the fruit is 2.22 ° C or below, lasting more than 18 days.

The orchard, packaging plant, cold storage and cold treatment facilities of pomegranates exported to China shall be reviewed and filed with the Central Plant Quarantine Bureau (CAPQ) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation of the the Arab Republic of Egypt, and shall be jointly approved and registered by the General Administration of Customs of China and CAPQ. In addition, during the first two years of trade, CAPQ officials should conduct sampling inspection on each batch of pomegranates exported to China at a rate of 2%. If no phytosanitary problems occur within two years, the sampling proportion will be reduced to 1%.

The export volume of pomegranates from Egypt reached 247000 tons last quarter, and it is expected that the export volume will remain at a similar level this quarter. There are mainly three varieties of Egyptian pomegranates, namely Baladi and Early 116 in the early season and Wonderful in the middle and late season. In recent years, due to the increased awareness of healthy eating among consumers due to the epidemic, the demand for Egyptian pomegranates in overseas markets is also increasing.