Thailand reopens Spanish grape and pear market

The government of Thailand has informed the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture that the Thai market is opening for Spanish grapes and pears. The opening comes after intensive cooperation between the governments of both countries. Thailand decided in 2010 to unilaterally close the market for Spanish fruit for phytosanitary reasons. It was only in 2017 that the negotiation process could be resumed and is now bearing fruit. During the negotiations, the Spanish government provided a lot of technical information demonstrating the food safety of the Spanish fruit. In the first half of August, the Ministry of Agriculture of Thailand made a verification visit. The result was satisfactory, resulting in a proposal for an import protocol for these two types of fruit. The Thai government has reported that the proposal is now being submitted to the Plant Quarantine Committee for processing and official publication. It will then confirm the exact date of entry into force of the Protocol as soon as ...