Paraguayo peaches and nectarines from Abarán are already on their way to China. Frutas Esther SA has become the first fruit and vegetable company in Spain to export a container with fruit to the Asian giant; a growing market whose conquest has already been launched by entrepreneurs in Murcia.
As was already the case earlier in the century, when the export of canned fruit led to the coining of the phrase 'Abarán-Paris-London', the day the shipment departed became a historic day for the town of Vega del Segura. It also sends a message of optimism to producers in the region.
The reefer container left the facilities of Frutas Esther bound to Barcelona, from where it will fly to China, but not before having met the many requirements of the authorities of the PRC. Shanghai and Guangzhou, the main points of entry for fruit and vegetables to the Chinese market (around 80% of the total), will receive the first Murcian fruit after more than two years of negotiations, two inspections carried out by the Chinese authorities and an ironclad protocol of phytosanitary measures, signed two months ago.
The long process came to an end with the unsealing of the container in which the fruits are travelling, and which has been subjected to a cold treatment (at one degree) since 5 August; a requirement imposed by the Chinese authorities to ensure that the fruit shipped is free from live larvae of the major pest on which China has set up a quarantine: the fruit fly or Ceratitis capitata.
This is the first of a number of shipments planned by Frutas Esther for the coming weeks and, due to its significance, it was attended by the inspector of the Ministry of Agriculture, José María López; the General Director of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Carmen Teodora Morales; the director of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Government Delegation, Joaquín Rodríguez; the Director of Frutas Esther, Esther Gómez Yelo, and the president of Apoexpa, Joaquín Gómez, who attended the opening of the container, sealed 23 days ago.
The main advantage of Murcian products over those from other regions is the commitment to quality, with the aim of supplying premium fruit to the most demanding markets of China. To achieve this, transportation is carried out by plane, while other means are being prepared for future campaigns, such as transport by rail, sources from the Ministry assured us. Esther Gómez, who will travel to China next Monday, noted that "the shipment was to be by train, but because of the Russian veto, we'll do it by plane."
"It will be a slow market, but also another destination for our exports and our main goal now is for the protocol for table grapes to be approved, to which end negotiations are currently underway," according to the president of Apoexpa, Joaquín Gómez, who estimates that there are 140 million Chinese people with a high purchasing power that are potential customers for Murcia's goods. The General Director commended the company for, once again, being a pioneer in the Murcian fruit sector in the production of quality fruits that are fully safe and grown with environmentally-friendly production methods.
