Taiwan could start exporting guavas to Australia within a year, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said yesterday.
The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on Monday last week released a draft risk assessment report for Taiwanese guava exports to the country, the agency said.
After a two-month public notification period, discussions can begin about details and procedures for managing guava exports to Australia, with shipments likely starting within one year, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Agriculture
Guavas could be vulnerable to the oriental fruit fly, or Bactrocera dorsalis, which is endemic to Taiwan. In December 2009, the agency submitted pest control management information on eradicating oriental fruit flies to the Australian quarantine unit.
After years of communication and Taiwan submitting supplementary documents, Australia in November 2023 sent experts to Taiwan for on-site inspections and verifications of guava orchards, it said.
The specialists inspected production facilities, pest and disease management, and post-harvest processing and packaging, which served as the basis for the draft risk assessment report, the agency said.
The experts affirmed Taiwan’s “high” operating and management standards, it said.
The draft assessment focused on fruit flies and other pests that could enter the country via fruit imports, it said.
Australian experts agreed to a proposed cold treatment disinfection technique for fruit flies, in addition to visual inspections and sorting prior to exports, it said.
After the public notification period is completed, Australian authorities would finalize their assessment, taking into account the public comments gathered, it added.
After that, the two countries could confirm quarantine and production conditions, it said.
The time between the consultation period and final agreement on imports varies by country, but it usually takes a few months to a year, the agency said.
Taiwanese officials will continue negotiations with their Australian counterparts as soon as possible, it said.
Taiwan currently exports guavas to the US, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Macau, Brunei, Indonesia, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates.
For exports to the US, guavas have to be stored in an environment below 1°C for 17 consecutive days before arriving in the US to minimize the risk of fruit fly infestation.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
1.4nm WAFERS: While TSMC is gearing up to expand its overseas production, it would also continue to invest in Taiwan, company chairman and CEO C.C. Wei said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has applied for permission to construct a new plant in the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區), which it would use for the production of new high-speed wafers, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council, which supervises three major science parks in Taiwan, confirmed that the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau had received an application on Friday from TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to commence work on the new A14 fab. A14 technology, a 1.4 nanometer (nm) process, is designed to drive artificial intelligence transformation by enabling faster computing and greater power
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
RSS