We mentioned in a previous news update that China would be sending experts down to Panama with a view of certifying Panama’s pineapples for export to China. Here’s a further news release on those visits. All of this fits in the broader new framework of the relations between Panama and China.

Publication date : 11/6/2018

Chinese phytosanitary experts visited pineapple export plantations in the western province of Chiriqui, on the border of Panama with Costa Rica, to visit the production areas of this tropical fruit and to meet with agricultural exporters of this item, an official source reported today.

The delegation visited the farms of Dolce Pineapple, in Veladero de Gualaca; Primero Cuarenta Group Inc. in the community of Chorcha; and Tropical Fruit, in El Higo de Cochea, in the capital of Chiriqui, said the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA).

Dario Gordon, the head of Plant Health of the MIDA, said that the Chinese group of phytosanitary experts reviewed the company’s respective documentation and undertook an inspection at origin of the crops and of the pineapple packing facilities.

Gordon, who accompanied the delegation, said that the Panamanian pineapple had good export possibilities in China.

The delegation was received by the Mida authorities on Monday, October 29, at Panama’s capital, from where they travelled to the pineapple areas in the province of West Panama.

The tour culminated on Thursday with a technical meeting at the regional offices of MIDA in Chiriqui, to evaluate the phytosanitary and safety work performed by the plant health personnel of the Mida in the pineapple plantations for export.

The visit took place within the framework of the relations between Panama and China, which established commercial ties, specifically in agriculture, the entity said.

Panama recognized the one China policy and established diplomatic ties with Beijing in June 2017, to the detriment of Taiwan.