To verify whether they comply with the rules for exporting meat, seafood, dairy products and fruits to the Asian country, representatives of the Chinese government will conduct an inspection of several production plants in Panama.

As part of the Free Trade Agreement between China and the Central American country, it was reported that from October 22nd to 31st a Chinese government delegation will inspect food processing plants in Panama.

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On the matter, Eduardo Carles, Minister of Agricultural Development of Panama, said to Prensa.com that “… Last August, during the second round of FTA negotiations, ‘we gave the authorities of the Asian country the necessary documents for the analysis of Panamanian export products such as codfish, beef and pineapple.”

Carles added that “… These visits will result in the certification of the plants that Panama has for exportation. Then we will work on the approval of criteria for signing protocols on meat products. Meat products and pineapple are the first products at the request of the General Directorate of Customs of China. After the visit, a work schedule will be established to develop the questionnaires and comply with the protocols of the other categories, such as seafood products.”

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Regarding the progress of signing the trade agreement, Panamanian authorities reported that on October 13th the third round of negotiations between the two delegations concluded, addressing issues of Intellectual Property, Cooperation and Rules of Origin.