China will soon get to taste more of British Columbia's blueberries as it ramps up into large-scale exporting.

Norm Letnick, British Columbia's agriculture minister, officially announced on Sunday in Langley that the first full season of blueberries are being shipped to China, signifying that the pact between China and Canada has already taken full effect.

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Last summer, a test run was implemented after a small volume of fresh blueberries were delivered to the mainland to see assess if the packaging, as well as its entire shipping process, are in accordance with the standards set by both countries.

After the successful dry run, British Columbia will now be increasing its blueberry shipment to the country. Once the agreement has been fully implemented, Canada is eyeing a potential $65 million worth f exports per year.

Langley's Blueridge Produce is one of the many companies to benefit from the new agreement.

"The B.C. blueberry industry is excited about expanding international markets and especially this new opportunity to provide our healthy, sweet and quality fresh B.C. blueberries to China," Debbie Estell, BC Blueberry Council, said. "2016 will be the first full season of shipments to Mainland China and our registered growers and suppliers have been working hard to ensure the highest standards."

British Columbia, which has one of the biggest blueberry growing regions in the world, plans not only to export agrifoods across the world but also establish a $15-billion-per-year agrifood sector by 2020. This effort is being supported by 13 foreign trade offices, British Columbia trade missions, and the development of direct-cargo flights out of YVR.

"British Columbia is one of the few regions able to ship fresh blueberries to China and today our growers celebrate access to this value Asian market," Estell said.

TagsBritish Columbia blueberries, blueberries, Langley