Korean strawberries to make entry into Australian market
Having prepared a related draft notice, the MAFRA is currently implementing procedures such as an administrative preliminary announcement (October 13 ~ November 2), regulation, and legal examinations among others. The final announcement will be made in early November.
The Australian quarantine authority officially announced the quarantine requirements agreed by the two countries in September 2017. The export quarantine negotiation was concluded at the Korea-Australia Quarantine Experts Meeting held in Australia from October 17 to 19.
The MAFRA (Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency) requested Australia to allow Korea’s export of fresh strawberries to Australia in November 2008. The two countries had been in full-scale negotiation since 2014, and have now finally agreed on quarantine requirements, paving the way for Korean strawberries to be exported to Australia.
Korean strawberry growers wishing to export strawberries to Australia from this year must register export farmhouses (greenhouses) and quality control centers in regional headquarters or offices of the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency.
Korean strawberry growers can export strawberries by conducting the quarantine of cultivation sites (twice) and laboratory precision quarantine (once) for the implementation and proof of management of pests by way of methyl bromide fumigation before export shipment.
The ministry said that the conclusion of the export quarantine negotiation is quite meaningful in that the conclusion provided an opportunity for high-quality Korean fresh strawberries to stably enter the Australian market.
Korea already exports strawberries to Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand among others, and has recently, expanded its export countries by concluding new quarantine negotiations with Canada and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the MAFRA said that the ministry will do everything in its power for the swift conclusion of new agricultural products and the development of new markets for high-quality Korean agricultural products which are promising as export items.