China keeps quarantine on Philippine fruit

China's quality watchdog said yesterday that it will maintain a quarantine on fruit imports from the Philippines.

The move is aimed at preventing the introduction of harmful organisms into China and safeguarding the nation's ecological security as well as people's health, according to a statement posted on the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine's website.

It said that China's move is in line with rules and standards set by the World Trade Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The agency said earlier that harmful insects or bacteria had been found in pineapples, bananas and other fruit imported from the Philippines in the last year.

The statement added that AQSIQ officials and experts held talks with a visiting Philippine delegation about the problems, showing the delegation photos of harmful organisms found with the exported fruit.

The AQSIQ said the Philippine side has invited Chinese delegates to the Philippines to conduct examinations, but the AQSIQ has no immediate plans to send delegates to the country. The AQSIQ also rejected a demand by the Philippines to send its own quarantine experts to jointly examine the exports, which the AQSIQ said violates international conventions and Chinese law.

The Chinese administration urged the Philippines to take effective measures to improve and enhance preventive efforts against harmful organisms in orchards and packaging plants, as well as to strengthen quarantine checks before exports, the statement noted.