Squeeze eased: Costa pleased China will drop Covid testing on imported chilled food

Costa Group has welcomed the announcement by China’s Customs that it will drop testing for Covid-19 on cold-chain food.

The Costa Group has welcomed moves by Chinese Customs officials to drop Covid-19 testing of imported chilled food from January 8.

The dropping of Covid-19 testing for imported goods, particularly on cold-chain food, was announced by China’s General Administration of Customs as part of a range of measures opening up the country as it officially downgrades the virus threat.

Costa exports about $30m a year in citrus products and grapes from Australia to China and is keen to step up sales to the country where it also produces blueberries for that market.

“This change is very welcome,” a spokesman said.

“Anything that helps the supply chain become more efficient should assist Costa, especially our table grape and citrus exports as we go into the new year.”

But the spokesman said the company also wanted shipping costs to China to come down from their highs of 2021 and more certainty on the availability of shipping slots into the country.

“Certainty on shipping slots availability is needed to return to pre-Covid levels,” he said.

Costa’s China exports represent about 10 per cent of its total exports, while Japan is still its largest offshore market.

Supplying the Chinese market was a key driver of Costa’s $200m takeover of central Queensland-based mandarin grower 2PH Farms in 2021.

“China as an export market is building in importance for us, as our 2PH citrus brand is recognised as being a premium fresh produce brand in China, so pricing is generally pretty good as a result,” the spokesman said.

“We certainly see more opportunity to build on this as we increase our citrus production volumes over the next few years.”

From January 8, all Covid-19 tests for imported cold-chain food and non cold-chain items at ports of entry will be abolished, according to China Customs.

The move will end one of the strictest rules in the world on imported goods, especially on cold-chain food which was regarded by Chinese authorities as a highly risky channel to bring the virus into the country.

Australian imports that rely on cold-chain logistics, from beef and seafood to fruit, will benefit from the removal of the test and the red tape surrounding Covid-related measures.

China has also announced it will cancel all Covid-19 tests for inbound personnel and promote an “orderly and steady resumption of open goods and passenger transport at border crossings”.

The comments from China Customs come as there is increasing hope for improved trading relations between Australia and China, as political tensions between the countries appear to thaw.

Federal Trade Minister Senator Don Farrell this week announced plans to visit China in early 2023. His announcement came after meetings between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in November, and separately between Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing last week.

Costa, which grows blueberries in Yunnan province in China’s southwest, wishes to expand its range of exports to the country.

But currently its exports to China of other Australian-grown products such as blueberries and avocados are banned, as there is no established fruit fly treatment protocol with China.

The company wants the federal government to work on a fruit fly protocol with China as trade relations reopen.

The Costa spokesman said the current situation meant that Australia was losing sales in the Chinese market to countries such as Chile, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Canada and the US.

“A whole-of-government approach to market access is desperately needed from the Australian government, including the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Trade Minister and the Agriculture Minister to work together at the highest political levels with the Chinese counterparts to get things moving,” he said.