New Zealand's Kiwifruit marketer, Zespri, said on Friday that it has temporarily halted all the shipments of Kiwifruit to China, citing quality concerns raised by China's quality regulator, stuff.co.nz reported.  

Last week Friday, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) issued a notification against Zespri after officials found fungus in some of the Zespri containers through regular testing.    

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"We are working with New Zealand kiwifruit suppliers and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to develop additional pre-shipping measures in response to AQSIQ's risk notification issued after the find of the fungus Neofabraea actinidiae through routine testing on four containers of fruit which arrived at Tianjin Port on June 8," Zespri said in a statement.

Zespri added that it would resume export to China once its new protocol is approved by MPI, which is expected to be done in coming days.   

According to reports, some additional Zespri pallets have been put on hold in China this week, due to the ongoing quality issue. However, containers that have been cleared according to the old protocol are being normally sold in China.

Trade Tension Between China and New Zealand Due to Steel Dumping Issue   

Last month, speculations were rife that China might take retaliatory action against New Zealand companies. This was in response to a complaint by New Zealand steel companies against cheap Chinese steel imports into the country.

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key downplayed the trade implications, adding that he did not expect any trade retribution from Beijing. However, reports have emerged in New Zealand's media that companies like Zespri and Fonterra have been heavily taxed by Chinese authorities.

TagsZespri, china, China and New Zealand, Kiwifruit China