‘Sutoroberī’ from Japan ‘berry-delicious,’ says envoy

FRUITY MILESTONE Japanese strawberries will soon be welcome in the country. —Photo courtesy of Ministry of Agnriculture, Forstry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan

MANILA, Philippines — Japan’s “juicy and sweet” strawberries will finally make their way from Tokyo to Manila starting on Sunday, Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya said over the weekend, following an agreement between the governments that lifted the export ban on Japanese strawberries.

“Thanks to the agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and [Philippine] authorities, these berry-delicious exports are good to go! Who’s excited for this fruity milestone?” Kazuya said in a post on X on Saturday.

The Japanese Embassy in Manila earlier said that the MAFF reached a deal with Philippine quarantine authorities regarding the export of fresh strawberries from Japan.

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“As a result, the ban on exporting fresh strawberries to the Philippines will be officially lifted on 15 December 2024,” the embassy said on Friday.

Quarantine requirements

In a separate news release, the MAFF noted that the Philippines had previously banned the importation of fresh strawberries from Japan due to the occurrence of pests, such as fruit fly Drosophila suzukii.

“In response to requests from producers, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has held repeated technical discussions with quarantine authorities in the Philippines to enable the export of fresh strawberries, and has now reached an agreement on quarantine conditions for the export of fresh strawberries produced in Japan,” it said.

The ministry pointed out that the export of fresh Japan strawberries must meet certain quarantine requirements, including the registration of production facilities and sorting and packaging facilities.

There must also be an investigation of the occurrence of pests, such as Drosophila suzukii, at production facilities; pesticide residue and microbial testing before export; and inspection to be conducted by Philippine authorities.