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Yesterday (September 18), the website of the General Administration of Customs issued a notice deciding to suspend the import of cherimoya and lotus mist from Taiwan to the mainland from September 20, 2021.
Previously, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council displayed a picture of the ocean rump-like mealybug detected on a pineapple in Taiwan
According to the Observer Network, in recent years, customs in various parts of China have repeatedly seized ocean rump-striped whiteflies in fruits such as cherimoya, dragon fruit, and rambutan carried by inbound passengers.
The ocean rump-like mealybug is a pest with serious hazards, belonging to omnivores, with more than 250 kinds of hosts, in addition to harming tropical and temperate fruits, it can also harm important cash crops such as soybeans, corn, potatoes, and ornamental flowers. The ocean rump-like mealybug can also attract ants and other insects to eat and coexist, the growth chain is difficult to control, it is easy to spread, and it is known as a "fruit killer". Once introduced and colonized, it will have a huge impact on the fruit industry, resulting in serious losses. In 2007, the ocean rump-like mealybug was listed as an inbound phytosanitary pest in China.
This is not the first time that Taiwanese fruits have been suspended from importing to the mainland due to a plant epidemic.
On February 26, 2021, the General Administration of Customs issued a notice on its website and decided to suspend the import of pineapple from Taiwan from March 1, 2021.
In this regard, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said in response to an inquiry that since 2020, the mainland customs has repeatedly intercepted quarantine pests from pineapples imported from the mainland from the Taiwan region. Once introduced, these pests pose a serious threat to agricultural production and ecological security on the mainland.
The full text of the notification
On September 19, the Department of Animal and Plant Quarantine of the General Administration of Customs issued the Notice on Suspending the Import of Taiwan Cherimoya and Lotus Mist into the Mainland [2021] No. 52:
Guangdong Branch, each directly subordinate to the Customs:
Since the beginning of this year, mainland customs have repeatedly detected quarantine pests from the soursches and lotus mist exported from Taiwan, the Ocean Rump Mealybug Planoccus minor. In order to prevent the risk of plant epidemics, in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations and standards of the Mainland, it is hereby decided to suspend the import of cherimoya and lotus mist from Taiwan to the Mainland from September 20, 2021.
From September 20, 2021, all customs offices will suspend the acceptance of customs declarations for soursop and lotus mist in Taiwan, and promptly notify the relevant enterprises in their jurisdictions of the above situation.
Notice is hereby given.
Animal And Plant Division
September 18, 2021
(The Paper's integrated general administration of customs website, observer network, CCTV news)
This issue is edited by Shan Zou