China warns Thailand to fix durian Covid-19 problem or face export ban

Officials at the Mohan border checkpoint in China have given Thailand 5 days to fix the issue of Covid-19 traces being found on exported durian. According to a Nation Thailand report, Chinese officials have threatened to slap an export ban on Thai durian if the problem is not resolved. Sanchai Puranachaikiri from the Thai Fresh Fruit Traders and Exporters Association says the warning came in a letter from border officials in China.

According to the letter, officials at the Mohan border detected traces of Covid-19 on durian coming in from Thailand. It’s understood this has happened on multiple occasions during random testing of the fruit. Last Saturday, 82 trucks of durian arrived at the checkpoint, with 6 of them found to have durian that bore traces of the virus.

The Thai Fresh Fruit Traders and Exporters Association is calling on the Thai government to issue a temporary ban against exporters who do not take adequate measures to prevent contamination. Sanchai says such businesses should halt operations for 2 weeks in order to address the issue.

He also wants the government to stop the export of durians for 7 days, in order to clear around 100 pending durian cargos and allow them to enter China first. He says allowing exports to continue will result in new cargo getting stuck with the old, further exacerbating the situation. In addition, Sanchai is calling on the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to work with provincial agricultural offices to enforce the standards of the Good Agricultural Practice Plus policy.

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On Monday, the Office of Agricultural Affairs in the Chinese city of Guangzhou posted on Facebook that there are strict Covid-19 prevention measures at the Mohan checkpoint. The office reminded exporters to check their products and take preventative measures to prevent contamination.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand