The new ‘Silk Road’ for Italian citruses has been unlocked. Italian farmers association Coldiretti announces it, pointing out that citrus fruits can also be exported to China with cargo planes. Thus favoring Italian exports to China, that until now have remained at the post. All this despite the fact that the presence of Made in Italy food products in China has quadrupled in value (+376%) in the last 10 years, reaching 448 million euros.
THE DEAL FOR ITALIAN CITRUSES
The agreement between Italy and China, for the abolition of non-tariff barriers, was announced by Italian Minister Luigi Di Maio during his recent trip to China. Until now, Italian citruses had never been able to reach China. Now there is a new access route for oranges, mandarins, lemons and other citrus fruits. It comes in addition to other openings of the Chinese borders such as that for Italian pork meat (in 2016 ) and for Italian alfalfa (in 2018).
NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN ITALY AND CHINA
“As far as fresh fruit is concerned – Coldiretti points out in an official statement – exports for apples and pears from Italy, which are undergoing specific negotiations, are still blocked. These obstacles need to be overcome in order to continue along the path of rebalancing trade relations in the agri-food sector. Italy’s imports from China have exceeded the value of exports by 29%, also due to the effect of trade tariffs and barriers”.