This exposure will be maximized by the presence of the Beijing office and local business partnerships to stimulate trade. Local partners, or brokers as they are called in the U.S., serve as intermediaries between Florida and China and are also designated as the importer of record. These local partners, in turn, sell to the Chinese retailers and wholesalers. Phytosanitary certification is required for all citrus shipped into the People's Republic of China. Phytosanitary certification is not just a requirement of China, but also of Japan and many other markets.
China is primarily concerned with the Mediterranean and Caribbean fruit flies.
The Commissioner has asked USDA to work with China to implement the other counties listed in the agreement that will be allowed to ship from approved packing houses after the 1999-2000 season. The Commissioner spoke with officials in Beijing in March about his desire to add these counties, also including Polk County. Polk had been left off the list when the agreement was originally negotiated because they were within 2 years of a medfly outbreak. There is no phytosanitary reason they can't be added now. If solid- wood packing is used, it must also have a statement of certification that it contains no conifer wood.