WELLINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - New Zealand kiwifruit exporter Zespri International Ltd has temporarily suspended shipments to China while it puts new inspection protocols in place after China detected a fungus in some fruit.
China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine or AQSIQ last week issued a "risk notification" after it detected the fungus Neofabraea actinidiae in routine testing on four containers of fruit which arrived at Tianjin Port on June 8.
Soaring kiwifruit exports are helping offset a sharp fall in New Zealand's major agricultural product, dairy. Kiwifruit exports reached a record NZ$1.7 billion ($1.2 billion) in the year to June, up 41 percent on a year earlier.
Zespri said the fungus has been recorded in New Zealand for more than 20 years and poses a low economic risk. It is usually seen in fruit that has been stored for an extended period of time. However, it is not present in China.
The grower-owned co-operative said it was working with Chinese officials and the New Zealand government to mitigate any potential risk to China, along with any market access impact to New Zealand.
The suspension of exports "was entirely our decision," Zespri spokeswoman Rachel Lynch said Friday.
Zespri said it was working closely with its suppliers and the Ministry for Primary Industries to develop the new protocols after AQSIQ called for more stringent inspection and quarantine processes on New Zealand kiwifruit entering China ports as well as strengthened pre-shipping processes.
Lynch said she expected the ministry to sign off on the protocols within a week, after which Zespri would resume shipments.
Zespri has sold around 11 million trays of Kiwifruit to China so far this season. It was expecting to send an additional eight million, but Lynch said one million trays would now be allocated to a different market.
($1 = 1.3916 New Zealand dollars)
