Spain: MAPAMA and the sector work together to export cherry to the Thai market

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment (MAPAMA) and the cherry producing sector work together to open the Thai market to Spanish exports of this fruit. As part of this negotiation, inspectors from the Office of Development and Research for Plant Protection of the Thai Department of Agriculture inspected cherry farms in Aragon and Extremadura in July.

The visit of inspectors to farms is one of the requirements that third countries usually include in phytosanitary negotiation processes for the opening of their markets, in order to verify in the field compliance with the phytosanitary requirements established in the Protocols of Export. This on-the-spot check has consisted of journeys to various cherry farms in Aragón and later in Extremadura, together with meetings with representatives of the administrations of these autonomous communities and MAPAMA.

The Protocol for the authorization of Spanish cherry exports to Thailand has begun to be negotiated in response to the demand of the sector which, through meetings of the Fruit and Vegetables Working Group, has been transferring its interest in this sector to the relevant administrations. market. In this line, both FEPEX and the associations belonging to the Cherry Committee are actively participating in the negotiation of this export protocol.

 

The Spanish export of cherries to third countries in 2016 amounted to 373 tonnes, including European non-Community countries, representing 1.5% of a total exported of 23,657 tonnes, according to data from the Directorate General of Customs and Excise of the Tax Agency processed by FEPEX.

Source: FEPEX