Manila bans Chinese fruit

Manila bans Chinese fruit

Reuters, Manila

The Philippines said on Friday it had imposed a temporary ban
on the import of corn, apples and other fruits from China after
finding the codling moth pest in some shipments of Chinese
apples.

Besides apples, other fruits covered by the ban included
pears, apricots, peaches, plums, cherries, almonds, quinces and
walnuts.

Manila issued the ban on Thursday after quarantine inspectors
found live codling moth larva in 342 tons of Chinese apples that
arrived in the country last week, the Department of Agriculture
said in a statement.

"This temporary ban is our first line of defense against the
possible attack of a vicious foreign pest," Agriculture Secretary
Leonardo Montemayor said.

He said he had ordered the "stoppage/confiscation of all
shipments arriving into the country of the affected commodities
originating from China."