Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

Department of Agriculture

No. 2604/DOA

Vientiane Capital, Date: 20 December 2022

 

 

- Pursuant to the Plant Protection and Quarantine Law No. 13/NA, dated 15 November 2016;

- Pursuant to the Minister’s Decision on the Organization and Implementation of the Department of Agriculture No. 0078/MAF, dated 12 January 2022;

- Pursuant to the Protocol on Phytosanitary Requirements for Export of Fresh Citrus Fruits from the Lao PDR to the People's Republic of China, signed on 05 November 2021.

 

In recent years, the policies on promote the agricultural commodity production has been implemented, resulting in an increasing exchange and trade of agricultural commodities with both regionals and internationals. In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR and the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China have signed the Protocol of Phytosanitary Requirements for the Export of Fresh Citrus Fruits from the Lao PDR to the People's Republic of China. As recently, mandarins, pomelos, and lemons have been largely cultivated, generating income for local people and making significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the country. However, the implementation of these promotional measures has not yet been fully consistent with the Protocol of Phytosanitary Requirements for the Export of Fresh Citrus Fruits that two countries have signed, particularly production and monitoring systems, and pest management of orchards as well as treatment procedures, cleaning and recording management of packing houses.

To ensure that the production and export management of Fresh Citrus Fruits from the Lao PDR is principled, unified, transparent, and complies with the Protocol of Phytosanitary Requirements for the Export of Fresh Citrus Fruits from the Lao PDR to the People's Republic of China, as well as the laws, regulations, and international agreements on Plant Protections of both the Lao PDR and the People's Republic of China are parties.

Department of Agriculture Issues the Instruction:

I. Objectives

- To implement the Protocol of Phytosanitary Requirements for the Export of Fresh Citrus Fruits from the Lao PDR to the People's Republic of China;

- To provide consistent procedures for applying phytosanitary requirements for exports throughout the country.

 

II. Phytosanitary Requirements for Export of Fresh Citrus Fruits from the Lao PDR to the People’s Republic of China.

1. Type Fresh Citrus Fruits

According to the Protocol of Phytosanitary Requirements, fresh citrus fruits to be exported from the Lao PDR to the People's Republic of China must be belonged to the species namely below: 

1.1. Thick-skinned mandarin has scientific name is: Citrus reticulata and commonly known in English as "mandarin.".

 

1.2. Pomelo has scientific name is: Citrus maxima, commonly known in English as "pomelo.", and commonly pronounced in Lao as “ mak kieng yai or mak som o”

 

1.3. Yellow lemon has scientific name is: Citrus limon, and commonly known in English as "Lemon.", and commonly pronounced in Lao as “mak nao”

 

2. Concern Quarantine Pests

Fresh Citrus Fruits to be exported from the Lao PDR to the People’s Republic of China must be free of the quarantine pests as listed below:

No Scientific name Common name Characteristics/descriptions Sample images

1 Aleurodicus disperus Spiralling whitefly It is a mouth-sucking insect, with a small shape, the larvae is white, the body is covered with white flour and the full-fledge adult has white wings.

 

2 Bacirocera

correcta Guava fruit fly

(ແມງວັນທອງໝາກສີດາ) The full-fledge adult is brown, the chest is brown with a golden-yellow rim, both wings are bright. The abdomen's 3-4th segment is black and looks like the letter "T". Being a worm with a slender head at its initial stage

 

3 Bactrocera

zonata Peach fruit fly

 

4 Planococcus

lilacinus Coffee mealybug

 

5 Planococcus

minor Pacific mealybug

 

6 Pyrader

cesrileyi Pink caterpillar

 

7 Eutetranychus

africanus Citrus brown mite Mite has a small size, flat stem, light green, red eyes, legs have 4 pairs, and cannot look and classify its appearance without magnifying glass, mostly found in fruits and leaves.

 

8 Candidatus

liberibacter Huanglongbing

 

9 Xanthomonas

Axanopodis pv.Crtrri Canker diseases

 

 

2. Management of Orchards

Orchard of mandarins, pomelos, and lemons that intended for export to the People's Republic of China must comply with the measures of pest control inspections and integrated management practices as follows:

1) Orchard management must conduct with the standard requirements of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) regards to the safety of products, which includes: terms of record and management of orchard; use of plant varieties, fertilizers, soil conditioner, water, chemical applications; harvesting and product management; housing, cleaning and sanitation; pest and livestock control; personnel hygiene; keeping product quality, storage, and transportation; traceableness, and recalls; training, document note taking, and reviews;

2) Pest management of orchard needs implement with the Integrated Pest Management (IPM), such as using pheromone traps, yellow glues, hygienic keeping of orchards, removing fallen and diseased fruits, pruning, conserving useful insects, and employing physical and other appropriated techniques to destroy pests when they are found;

3) Orchard operators must keep records of pest management and monitoring such as chemical names, application periods, active substances, quantity, frequency, and other related information. Recorded documents should be properly kept and readily available for inspection by authorities;

4) For pomelo must be covered or packed throughout its growing period by conducting as the technical standards that specified in the annex 1 of this Instruction;

5) Production areas must have safety measures to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic for products and workers.

4. Packing Houses

1) Select the healthy mandarins, pomelos, and lemons which are free from rot, disease, insects, leaves, and other residues;

2) Cleaning and varnishing to eliminate eggs, snail mealybugs, mites, and whiteflies on the fruit skins, as well as to eliminate germs by the use of fungicides after harvest;

3) For mandarins and lemons must be cold fumigated in the registered warehouses that complied with requirements as specified in the Annex 2 as: before exports, a thick-skinned mandarin (Citrus reticulata) must be cold fumigated at a temperature of 1.67°C and the Yellow lemons (Citrus limon) must be fumigated continuously at a temperature of 3°C for 18 days;

4) Packing materials must be cleaned, new or never used, and complied with phytosanitary requirements of the People's Republic of China;

5) Each packing must be printed or labeled with clear and appropriated in English letters on its sides and top. Details of label should consist of the following information;

- Export to the People's Republic of China ……………………………… ………

- Name of the exporting company: ………………………………………………..

- Fruit type: ………………………………………………………………………..  

- Orchard registered number: ……………………………………………………

- Packing house register number: …………………………………………………

- Packing date: ……………………………………………………………………

 

6) After packing completed, it must be stored separately in cleaned storage facilities to prevent contamination and pest infestation;

7) In cases, wooden packing materials are used, the wood must be treated with heat at a minimum core temperature of 56°C for at least 30 minutes or fumigated with Methyl bromide by the rates as the following tables:

Temperature Dosage Rate (g/m³) Maximum Concentration (g/m³)

21°C or higher 48 36 31 28 24

16°C or higher 56 42 36 32 28

10°C or higher 64 48 42 36 32

 

Note: Wooden packing materials that have been fumigated must be certified by the Department of Agriculture. The fumigation operators must be registered with the Department of Agriculture following the procedures and methods specified in the Instruction of Technical Guidelines and Principles for the Control and Use of Wood as Packaging Material for International trade No. 0053/DOA, dated January 23, 2006.

 

5. Registration

Individuals, legal entities, or organizations intending to register or renew the registration of orchards, packing houses, and cold fumigated storages must follow with the regulations that declared periodically by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Applications for registration need to be submitted to the Department of Agriculture in January and June of each year.

The application for registration includes as the followings:

1. A completed application form as specified by the Department of Agriculture;

2. A copy of the operated license of Agricultural and Forestry activities;

3. A copy of the recent annual tax clearance certificate;

4. An operational manual on management of plant sanitary and phytosanitary;

5. A power of attorney and a copy of applicant’s identity card, in cases, instead appointing another applicant to summit applications.

The registration certificate is valid for one year and can be renewed. Operators that have been approved and registered as exporters will be declared with their details, including name, address, and registration number on the official website of the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China.

 

 

 

6. Phytosanitary Measures Before Export

Individuals, legal entities, or organizations that have been approved as exporters by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China must conduct with the following requirements:

1) Request applications and its relevant attached documents should be submitted to either the Department of Agriculture or the Provincial Agriculture Divisions. For requirements and procedures applying for a phytosanitary certificate, applicants must follow the Instructions No. 2880/DOA, dated December 11, 2019, issued by the Department of Agriculture;

2) In the first year of exports, the Plant Quarantine Authority of the People's Republic of China will be officially invited into the Lao PDR by the Department of Agriculture to monitor and inspect orchards of passion fruits and its management system based on the requirements of this Instruction. Passion fruit exporters will be responsible for all related expenditures of monitoring and inspecting procedures;

3) Random sampling and inspection in the first two years, must cover 2% of each consignment. If the quarantine pests are not found, the random sampling and inspection shall be reduced to 1% in the third year. After random sampling and inspection of 1% or 2% completed, then the 30 percents of samples shall be selected to detailly test and inspect for quarantine pests;

4) In case, the quarantine pests that listed in article 2 of chapter II of this Instruction are found during inspection, the respective consignment of passion fruit must not be exported, and the finding must be reported immediately to the Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to investigate orchards areas and seek for corrective measures.

5) In case, the consignment of passion fruits is not found any quarantine pests by the inspection of the Plant Quarantine Authorities. Then a phytosanitary certificate must be issued for the consignment of passion fruit and the phytosanitary certificate must include additional declarations starting with: ‘‘This consignment of passion fruit complies with the Protocol of Phytosanitary Requirements for Export of Fresh Passion Fruits from Laos to China and is free of soil and the quarantine pests concerned by China.";

6) Plant Quarantine Authority responsible for issuing phytosanitary certificates must stipulate the designated import checkpoints that approved by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China in each period and requirement information regards to the cold fumigation such as: temperatures, times of cold fumigation, and registered number of cold fumigated houses.

7. Plant Quarantine Measures at Entry Checkpoints

When consignments of fresh citrus fruits from the Lao PDR arrived at the entry Checkpoints in China, the consignment owner must summit all required documents to the Chinese Plant Quarantine Authorities for inspection and verification.

Consignment of fresh citrus fruits originating from unregistered production facilities are strictly prohibited from being imported.

In case, the quarantine pests that listed in article 2 of chapter II of this Instruction are found during inspection, The affected consignment of fresh citrus fruits will be forced to return, destroy, or subject to effective quarantine and pest eradication measures. Chinese Plant Quarantine Authorities will immediately notify the Lao Authorities regard to the type of pest, the phytosanitary certificate number, and other relevant information. And the imports of fresh citrus fruits from orchards or packing houses where the quarantine pests are found will be also suspended. Exporters must investigate the cause of pests and implement appropriate measures to prevent recurrence.

It must be recorded in the case of an outbreak or infestation of new types of pests at Chinese entry checkpoints, and the exporters are called to cooperate in risk assessment processes to review the quarantine pest list and seek for control measures of mitigate risks.

 

III. Implementation

1. Appoint the Plant Quarantine and Agriculture Divisions take the lead to collaborate with other relevant sectors to effectively monitor, inspect, and disseminate this Instruction;

2. Appoint Plant Quarantine Division submits the list of individuals, legal entities, or organizations that have been authorized to export fresh citrus fruits to the Department of Plant and Animal Quarantine, General Administration’s Customs of the People’s Republic of China for their consideration twice a year, and coordinate with Agriculture Divisions and its line sectors to monitor and assess pest risk of the orchards in each production period;

3. Appoint the Plant Quarantine Division takes the lead to collaborate with Agriculture Divisions and its line sectors to period summarize and report to the Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry regard to the exports of fresh citrus fruits from the Lao PDR to the People’s Republic of China;

4. Appoint the Plan Quarantine Authorities to strictly and technically implement in the inspection and certification of export fresh citrus fruits;

5. In the actual implementation, any convenience or challenges should be timely reported to the Department of Agriculture for immediate consideration of corrective measures.

              This Instruction takes effect on the day of signing.

 

 

 

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