China’s
Shaanxi Province Increases Fruit Production
This year Shaanxi province
devoted over 670,000 hectares to fruit production making
it the fourth- largest producing province in the country.
In contrast, total bearing area for non-citrus fruit in
the United States in 1998 was 887,108 hectares. Shaanxi
is expected to harvest 5.5 million tons of fruit this
year accounting for 10 percent of China’s total
output. Production is expected to reach 8 million tons in
the next three years. Apple production for 1999 is up 30
percent to a total 4.5 million tons. Apple production in
the United States for 1999 is forecast at 4.8 million
tons. Shaanxi province is expected to produce 110,000
tons of kiwifruit, accounting for two thirds of
China’s total output. China’s 1999 kiwifruit
production is forecast at 165,000 tons and is the
world’s third-largest producer after Italy which
produces around 280,000 tons and New Zealand which
normally produces 230,000 tons. China’s consumption
of kiwifruit is strong. The country is a net importer of
the fruit, bringing in 2,000 to 3,000 tons a year from
New Zealand.
Vegetables
Overtake Rice as Top Farm Crop in Japan
According to the U.S.
Agricultural Minister-Counselor in Tokyo, production of
vegetables in Japan in 1998 increased 13 percent in value
terms to 2.61 trillion yen ($24.9 billion dollars),
exceeding the farm value of the domestic rice crop for
the first time ever. The Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) reported that the total
farm value of rice production in 1998 was 2.54 trillion
yen, followed by livestock production at 2.43 trillion
yen. U.S. exports of fresh and chilled vegetables to
Japan in 1998 totaled $138 million, down 5 percent from
1997 and 30 percent from the 1995 record. During the
first 9 months of 1999, U.S. fresh and chilled vegetable
exports to Japan rebounded to $113 million, up 19 percent
from the same period in 1998. Broccoli, cauliflower,
asparagus, onions, lettuce and kohlrabi accounted for the
bulk of the value. U.S. exports of fresh tomatoes to
Japan in the first nine months of 1999 increased 80
percent to $1.0 million over the same period in 1998.
Prospects Look
Good for New Florida Citrus Protocol with the Philippines
During the final stages of
an FAS-financed (EMO TIRF) and APHIS-led Philippine plant
quarantine delegation visit to the United States the week
of November 17, the Director of the Philippine Bureau of
Plant Industry verbally agreed to add Florida oranges and
tangerines to a protocol for Florida grapefruit which had
been finalized in May 1999. Per the original protocol,
the Philippine plant officials inspected and certified
the first commercial export shipment of Florida
grapefruit, thus effectively launching a projected
$2-million market. The market potential for other Florida
citrus products is estimated to be worth an additional $2
million. The Philippines has become an important market
for a range of U.S. fresh fruits, notably grapes, apples,
and oranges. Fresh fruit shipments to the Philippines
topped $36 million in calendar year (CY) 1997, before
falling off sharply in 1998 due to the economic downturn
in the region. However, exports through the first 9
months of 1999 were up over 25 percent from a year
earlier, reflecting a general recovery in the market.
China to
Regulate U.S. Solid Wood Packing Materials
The Peoples’ Republic
of China has announced its intention to require heat
treatment of solid wood packing materials that are made
from U.S. conifers beginning January 1, 2000. The
proposed regulation will apply to shipments from the
United States and Japan. According to Chinese officials,
coniferous solid wood packing materials from the United
States have been found to carry pinewood nematode, a pest
associated with pine wilt disease. According to reports,
this pest has been intercepted 44 times in U.S. shipments
to China since October 1998. The pinewood nematode has
been found in five provinces of China and is under
official control. A pest risk assessment has been
prepared by the Chinese government addressing the issue.
China is the latest addition to the list of countries,
including the United States and Canada, that regulate
solid wood packing material to prevent the introduction
of new pests.
USDA Amends User
Fee Regulations for APHIS Services
Effective December 16, 1999,the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will adjust
the user fees charged for agricultural quarantine and
inspection activities to reflect the anticipated actual
costs of providing these services through fiscal year
2002. A detailed description of the fee changes and the
agency’s responses to comments received on the final
rule are available on the internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
Argentina Lifts
Quarantine on U.S. Blueberry Plants
Argentina has lifted a
2-year quarantine on U.S. blueberry plants and the
importation of such plants is now possible immediately.
The Argentine government was worried about the
introduction of the fungus phomopsis vacinni (twig
blight) not previously reported to exist in that country.
Once it became apparent that Argentina already had this
fungus, the quarantine on U.S. blueberries was lifted.
Argentina's reinstatement of import permits for blueberry
plants could mean more than $200,000 annually for U.S.
producers in Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, and
Oregon, according to APHIS estimates.
Trinational
Dispute Resolution Corporation Open to All Produce
Companies in NAFTA Area
The Dispute Resolution
Corporation (DRC) is a private non-profit organization of
produce companies in the NAFTA region dedicated to
providing dispute resolution services. The objective of
the organization is to set up a single system for fair
and ethical trading practices across North America by
adopting fair trade standards adapted from existing
American and Canadian rules and by providing efficient
services for resolving disputes. These services are
provided by a combination of in-house staff and outside
organizations experienced in mediating and arbitrating
disputes between produce companies (e.g. Blue Book and
Commercial Arbitration and Mediation Center for the
Americas). Mediated settlements and/or arbitral decisions
of the DRC will be fully enforceable in the courts of all
three NAFTA countries. To learn more about the DRC,
contact the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution
Corporation, Tel (613) 226-4187, Fax (613) 226-2984.
Low Almond
Prices Severely Impact Export Value Despite Record Volume
Exports
Trade value for almond
exports has dropped drastically in recent months despite
very strong export demand. Large production increases in
the United States, which supplies 75 percent of the
world’s almonds, coupled with large U.S. stocks,
have pushed world supplies to record levels and further
depressed already low almond prices. Blue Diamond
Growers, the large California-based cooperative, reports
current grower prices of $.75/lb, a price at or sometimes
below the cost of production and 46 percent lower than
last year’s almond prices. Larger output,
significantly reduced prices, and a weakening U.S. dollar
have greatly boosted U.S. almond exports this year.
However, the increase in export volume has not been
sufficient to offset the steep decline in almond prices.
Almond export value through the first three months of the
1999/2000 season (August-October) is down 33 percent from
the same period last year. Almonds are the top-value U.S.
horticultural export, with an average annual export value
of $812 million over the past four years.
Champagne and
Sparkling Wine Prices Rise, But Shortage Rumors Unfounded
Although it is estimated
that several billion bottles of champagne and sparkling
wine will be consumed at millennium celebrations, a
resulting overall shortage of champagne and sparkling
wine is not anticipated. However, there are existing
shortages of certain popular and high-end brands (over
$50 and mainly French) because they are typically
produced in fairly limited quantities. Over the last
year, prices for champagne and sparkling wines have risen
by 10 to 20 percent, mainly the result of media hype.
U.S. imports of champagne and sparkling wine have
increased over 50 percent by value and volume for the
first 10 months of 1999 over the same period for 1998.
Meanwhile, U.S. exports of sparkling wine have fallen
almost 20 percent by value and volume over this same
period, mostly due to domestic suppliers preferring to
supply the surge in domestic demand for champagne and
sparkling wine for millennium celebrations.
CODEX & WTO
The General Principles of
the Codex Alimentarius is "to guide and promote the
elaboration and establishment of definitions and
requirements for foods to assist in their harmonization
and in doing so to facilitate international trade."The Uruguay Round Agreements represent a milestone in
the multilateral trading system because, for the first
time, they incorporated agriculture and food under
operationally effective rules and disciplines. Country
participants in the round of negotiations recognized that
measures ostensibly adopted by national governments to
protect the health of their consumers, animals and plants
could become disguised barriers to trade as well as being
discriminatory. Consequently, the Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) and the Technical Barriers
to Trade (TBT) Agreements were included among the
Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods during the
Uruguay Round.
The SPS Agreement
acknowledges that governments have the right to take
sanitary and phytosanitary measures necessary for the
protection of human health. However, the SPS Agreement
requires them to apply those measures only to the extent
required to protect human health. It does not permit
Member Governments to discriminate by applying different
requirements to different countries where the same or
similar conditions prevail, unless there is sufficient
scientific justification for doing so. The TBT Agreement
seeks to ensure that technical regulations and standards,
including packaging, marking and labelling requirements,
and analytical procedures for assessing conformity with
technical regulations and standards do not create
unnecessary obstacles to trade.
It is noteworthy that the
SPS and TBT Agreements both acknowledge the importance of
harmonizing standards internationally so as to minimize
or eliminate the risk of sanitary, phytosanitary and
other technical standards becoming barriers to trade. In
its pursuance of harmonization, with regard to food
safety, the SPS Agreement has identified and chosen the
standards, guidelines and recommendations established by
the Codex Alimentarius Commission for food additives,
veterinary drug and pesticide residues, contaminants,
methods of analysis and sampling, and codes and
guidelines of hygienic practice. This means that Codex
standards are considered scientifically justified and are
accepted as the benchmarks against which national
measures and regulations are evaluated.
Considerable interest in the
Commission's activities has been stimulated by the
specific recognition of Codex standards, guidelines and
recommendations within the SPS Agreement as well as the
importance assumed by Codex standards in the TBT
Agreement. Consequently, attendance at Codex meetings,
especially by developing countries, has markedly
increased. This is a welcome development, particularly
since both Agreements direct members, within the limits
of their resources, "to play a full part" in
the work of international standards organizations and
their subsidiaries. The adoption of Codex standards as
scientifically justified norms for the purpose of the SPS
and TBT Agreements is of immense significance. The
standards have become an integral part of the legal
framework within which international trade is being
facilitated through harmonization. Already, they have
been used as the benchmark in international trade
disputes, and it is expected that they will be used
increasingly in this regard.
For this reason, exporters
should be attentive to the work being performed in the
various committees. Of particular interest to companies
in the horticultural and tropical products sector might
be the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene; Sugars; Processed
Fruits and Vegetables; Fruit Juices; Fresh Fruits and
Vegetables; Cocoa Products and Chocolate; Food Import and
Export Certification and Inspection; Food Additives and
Contaminants; Pesticide Residues; Biotechnology; Methods
of Analysis and Sampling; and Food Labeling.
The following two internet
addresses are invaluable for obtaining a report on the
most recent meetings and for obtaining the provisional
agendas and working papers for up-coming meetings:
