On May 19, the General Administration of Customs of China issued the "Announcement on the Phytosanitary Requirements for Importing Cambodian Fresh Longan". From now on, the import of Cambodian fresh longan that meets the relevant requirements is allowed.
According to the announcement, fresh longan orchards and packaging plants exported to China should be reviewed and filed with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of the Kingdom of Cambodia (hereinafter referred to as "MAFF"), and registered by the General Administration of Customs of China (hereinafter referred to as "GACC") and MAFF.Registration information should include name, address and registration number.The registration list should be provided by MAFF to GACC before the export season every year, and published on the official website after being reviewed and approved by GACC.
The announcement also lists the quarantine pests that are of particular concern, and gives detailed instructions on the management of orchards and packaging plants, as well as packaging requirements, pre-export quarantine and phytosanitary certificates and other pre-export requirements.
Data shows that by the end of 2020, the country's longan planting area was about 14,500 hectares, of which 11,500 hectares were mass-produced, with an annual output of about 200,000 tons, mainly distributed in Battambang, Pailin and Banteay Meanchey provinces.
Previously, due to phytosanitary issues, Cambodia could not directly export longan to China, so Cambodian longan could only be exported to China via Thailand.According to industry estimates, if Cambodian longan achieves official direct export to China, Cambodia can earn an additional US$200 million (approximately RMB 1.29 billion) per year.
This access marks that Cambodian longan has become the third Cambodian fruit that is officially directly exported to the Chinese market after bananas and mangoes.
