The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (QIA) said on Tuesday it had cleared all regulatory issues with its Peruvian counterpart to start exporting the peppers to the Latin American nation. The QIA is now engaging in last-minute talks with the Filipino government over the issue.
Under the deal with Peru, all kinds of peppers grown and harvested in greenhouses here will be given the go ahead for shipment after a QIA inspection.
“There are some pending issues the Peruvian government should tackle. But I think there will be no problem with exporting peppers from September,” a QIA official said. The official said talks with the Filipino government went smoothly, adding the Southeast Asian country recently decided to import Korean peppers and issued guidelines for Korean famers to abide by on Aug. 6.
Under the guidelines, pepper famers registered with the QIA are entitled to export their products. Harvested products should be packaged within 48 hours and stored at 18 degrees Celsius or lower during shipment.
“We are engaging in last minute talks with the Philippines,” said Kim Do-nam, a QIA official familiar with the issue. “We will announce more detailed guidelines after the deal is completed.”
Korea exported 20,765 tons of peppers worth $88.81 million last year, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation. Nearly 99 percent of these went to Japan. The corporation recently hosted a large-scale promotional event in Hong Kong to diversify the products’overseas markets. It will host similar events in Singapore and Taiwan and other Southeast Asian countries.
Bell peppers are rich in Vitamin C and are used as ingredients in a wide variety of dishes.
