Myanmar is attempting to qualify for General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China (AQSIQ) certificates for eight kinds of fruits and spices. The aim is to officially export them to China, said U Soe Than Min Din , president of the Myanmar Fruit, Flower and Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association.

“We have cooperated fully with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) but so far, we have not received an official reply from China. However, the Myanmar government has reached out to us with questions regarding growing conditions and potential diseases,” said U Soe Than Min Din.

The eight fruits and spices are: avocados, pomelos, bananas, durian, pineapples, lime as well as white yam and cardamom.

Currently, Myanmar is exporting mangoes, oil palm, watermelons and other melons to China, said U Tin Aung, an official from the association.

Longan fruits, mangosteen, rambutans, lychees Jujube fruits as well as mangoes, watermelons and melons from Myanmar are already AQSIQ-registered. Fruits with AQSIQ certificates are cleared for exports to China. Exports of fruits and vegetables without an AQSIQ cert are classified as illegal.

The government is raising efforts to promote economic growth through exports by adding new priority sectors to its National Export Strategy (NES).