South African apples to be supplied on Hunan market

On April 29 afternoon, 40 tonnes of apples imported from South Africa arrived at the Red Star Global Agricultural Products Wholesale Center in Changsha.

This was the first time that a Hunan enterprise directly purchased imported apples from Africa. The import order of these apples was signed at the 2023 China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE), said a person in charge of the importer—the Red Star Agricultural Supply Chain Management (Hunan) Co., Ltd.

The apples were delivered from the Port of Durban in South Africa. They were transported to Changsha through cold-chain logistics after completing customs clearance and inspection procedures at the Shanghai Port. The Changsha Customs authority has given guidance on fruit quarantine and quality packing to the importer in advance, and coordinated with related ports and customs to expedite the customs clearance and logistics process, reducing the overall time required.

These imported apples belong to the Royal Gala variety, known for their crispness, sweetness, and vibrant color. Being supplied on the market in late spring and early summer, they will fill the gap in domestic apple supply during the off-season. These apples will be distributed through a variety of channels to enter the province and the surrounding markets for sales.

A plant inspection official of the Changsha Customs said that the Changsha Customs authority has established a "green channel" for the African agricultural products to China, and rolled out practical and feasible measures to facilitate the entrance of more African high-quality and specialty agricultural products into the Hunan market.

So far, the Chinese government has approved import of 15 varieties of fruits from 7 African countries, such as Egyptian citrus and Kenya avocados.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: Rednet