Chilean ambassador dispels virus concerns on imported cherries
The ambassador of Chile, the country which has become a major source of imported cherries for China, reassured customers that fresh cherries contain “minimal COVID- 19 risks,” saying he expects the country’s cherry exports to China will increase during this year’s Spring Festival despite concern over the safety of the fruit.
“There is minimal risk of COVID- 19 from imported cherries, as the shipment should be above zero degrees,” Chilean Ambassador to China Luis Schmidt Montes said, dismissing speculations that the recent positive COVID- 19 cases involving imported cherries are from Chile.
“Cherries are safe, and good for customers’ health,” Montes added.
Last week, the inner packaging of a batch of imported cherries was found to be COVID- 19 positive in Wuxi, East China’s Jiangsu Province. Although it is still unclear which country it was imported from, it has sent shockwaves online and dragged down cherries prices. In East China’s Zhejiang Province neighboring Jiangsu, prices of imported cherry have plunged to as low as 16 yuan ($ 2.43) per kilogram following the detection of the positive samples, compared with around 60 yuan per kilogram previously.
“We have not received any official communication from the local authorities or any other official Chinese body certifying that the findings referred on the news are a product imported from Chile,” Montes told the Global Times. According to Montes, unlike cold- chain shipping that usually stores food at subzero temperatures, shipments of fresh fruits are usually between 4 and 6 degrees, and has significnatly lower COVID- 19 risks.
“For this season, exports to China are expected to grow around 36 percent year- on- year,” Montes said. “About 1,000 containers will arrive in China for the peak festive season in the next 10 to 15 days.”