MANILA:
China has impounded Philippine fruit
exports alleged to carry pests, squeezing a key industry amid a tense stand-off
between the two countries over disputed territory, a Philippine official said.
Manila
newspapers on Saturday reported tonnes of Philippine bananas were rotting at
Chinese ports, while the Philippines' Bureau of Plant Industry director Clarito
Barron confirmed fruit shipments faced stricter inspection there.
"This
has a huge effect on the industry," Barron said, describing China as an
important market having imported 300,000 tonnes of Philippine bananas worth $60
million last year.
The
Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper quoted Stephen Antig, president of an
association of 18 banana growers, saying they had sustained losses of one
billion pesos (about $236,000) because bananas spoiled after three days.
Chinese
quarantine officials informed the Philippines that all its banana exports would
have to face inspection before they clear Chinese ports after scale insects
were allegedly found in one March shipment, Barron said.
The
stricter quarantine measures were later extended to Philippine pineapples and
papayas after Chinese authorities claimed they also found pests in a May 2
shipment, he said in an interview aired on DZBB radio in Manila.
Barron
said the Philippines disputes the Chinese findings, stressing that the bugs
allegedly found on the March shipment attacked coconuts, not bananas.
With
total shipments worth $470.96 million last year, bananas are the Philippines's
second-largest agricultural commodity export after coconuts, according to
government data.
China
is the Philippines' second-largest banana market after Japan.
The
banana issue came up a month before Chinese maritime surveillance vessels
prevented the Philippine navy from arresting Chinese fishermen on a disputed
South China Sea shoal in April, sparking a tense maritime stand-off.
"In
my opinion, this (banana quarantine) has nothing to do with that issue,"
Barron said.
The
Philippine government has proposed measures to resolve the trade impasse,
including sending inspectors to accompany the fruit shipments, but China has
yet to reply, he added.
Barron
and Antig could not be reached for comments on Saturday.
-
AFP/al
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