Recently, the General Administration of Customs issued an announcement that Italian kiwifruit will be allowed to be transported to China by refrigerated ship from September 7.
The transport requirements stipulate that kiwifruit must be loaded in separate cabins and that the same cabin may not be loaded with goods exported to other countries and regions. The cabin of the ship shall not be opened before reaching the Chinese port, and the cargo can only be unloaded at the designated port in China. Each shipment should have adequate measures to prevent re-infection of pests by covering each tray with a mesh film with a maximum pore size of less than 1.6 mm (except for kiwifruit with sealed bags for inner packaging or mesh bags with a pore size of less than 1.6 mm).
Cold treatment of kiwifruit can be implemented before or during shipment. When kiwifruit transported by "refrigerated ship" arrives at the port of entry, it is necessary to provide a cold treatment report and fruit temperature probe correction record for each cabin. If the cold treatment is found to be invalid, the cabin kiwifruit should be returned, destroyed or the shore cold treatment should be carried out.
Italy is the world's leading producer of kiwifruit, with an annual season that lasts from November to May. In September 2020, Italian kiwifruit was allowed to be exported to China by ship, and the annual import volume is currently stable at around 6,000-7,000 tons.
