On November 27, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Astana signed a protocol with the General Administration of Customs (GTU) of China on phytosanitary requirements for the export of fresh stone fruits from Kazakhstan to China, as was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The document notes that for export, fresh stone fruits from Kazakhstan (that also includes peaches and apricots) must comply with all Chinese phytosanitary laws and regulations, as well as health and safety standards, and must not contain quarantine pests nor mix with the ground.

According to the document “all orchards and packaging companies wishing to export stone fruit crops to China must be registered in Kazakhstan and approved by both the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the State Technical University of the People’s Republic of China.”

Other requirements for the export of stone fruits:

• Packaged products must be stored in a chamber containing only stone fruits.
• Each box must be labeled in Chinese or English with the name of the fruit, exporting country, place of production, name or code of the orchard and packing house.
• Each box and pallet must be marked with the following text in Chinese or English: “Exported to the People’s Republic of China.”

To date, Kazakhstan has signed protocols with China for the export of 23 types of agricultural and livestock products, and China also announced its readiness to lift restrictions to resume supplies of beef, pork and poultry from Kazakhstan.

Source: Forbes Kazakhstan