Latest news with #GeneralAdministrationofCustoms
The Star
2 days ago
- Business
- The Star
China set to resume seafood imports after Fukushima scare
China has agreed on procedures to resume imports of Japanese seafood products, Japan's government said yesterday, marking a step towards ending a nearly two-year trade ban. Officials from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and China's Customs reached the agreement during a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday, the ministry said, adding that China-bound seafood exports were expected to resume after China completes 'necessary procedures'. China's General Administration of Customs said that the two countries made 'substantial progress' following another round of talks on the trade of Japanese aquatic products. The agreement comes as both governments work to ease tensions stemming from the 2023 release of treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It 'marks one important milestone', Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said during a regular press conference. 'We will continue calling for the resumption of Japan's exports of its beef to China and the lifting of import restrictions on agricultural and marine products from ten prefectures,' including Fukushima and Tokyo, Hayashi added. Those prefectures were not included in the agreement. Under the agreed measures, Japan will register fishery processing facilities with Chinese authorities, and exports will include inspection certificates confirming the absence of radioactive substances, the farm ministry said. The Nikkei newspaper, which reported the news earlier, said that China is expected to formally announce the resumption of seafood imports from Japanese prefectures outside the Fukushima region in the near future. China imposed the ban on Japanese seafood imports shortly after Tokyo began releasing the treated Fukushima wastewater, prompting a diplomatic and economic backlash. — Reuters
Asahi Shimbun
2 days ago
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
China set to resume imports of Japanese seafood halted over water discharge from Fukushima plant
Visitors check seafood sold at the seafood market "Lalamew" near the Onahama fish port in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, on Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/ File) China will resume Japanese seafood imports it banned in 2023 over worries about Japan's discharge of treated but slightly radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the sea, a Japanese minister said Friday. Fisheries minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the agreement was reached after officials met in Beijing and the imports will resume once paperwork is complete. China said talks this week made 'substantial progress,' but did not confirm an agreement with Japan on the issue that has been a significant political and diplomatic point of tension. 'Seafood is an important export item for Japan and a resumption of its export to China is a major milestone," Koizumi said. Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya also welcomed the move, saying: 'It will be a big first step that would help Japan and China to tackle a number of remaining issues between the two countries." But officials said China's ban on farm and fisheries products from 10 Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima, is still in place and that they will keep pushing toward their lifting. China's General Administration of Customs said in a statement Friday that the two sides had on Wednesday held "a new round of technical exchanges on the safety issues of Japanese aquatic products ... and achieved substantial progress,' but did not mention an agreement. Disagreement over seafood imports China blocked imports of Japanese seafood because it said the release of the treated and diluted but still slightly radioactive wastewater would endanger the fishing industry and coastal communities in eastern China. Japanese officials have said the treated water will be safer than international standards and its environmental impact will be negligible. They say the water must be released to make room for the nuclear plant's decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks. Tokyo and Beijing have held three rounds of talks since March on the issue before reaching the agreement this week on the 'technical requirements' necessary for Japanese seafood exports to China to restart, Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It did not say how long it may take before the actual resumption. Mainland China used to be the biggest overseas market for Japanese seafood, accounting for more than one-fifth of its seafood exports, followed by Hong Kong. The ban became a major blow to the fisheries industry, though the impact on overall trade was limited because seafood exports are a fraction of Japan's total exports. Japan's government set up an emergency relief fund for its exporters, especially scallop growers, and has sought alternative overseas markets. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the Fukushima No. 1 plant, has said it would compensate Japanese business owners appropriately for damages from export bans. 'Mutual understanding' The nuclear plant had meltdowns in three reactors after being heavily damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan. Water used to cool the reactor cores has been accumulating ever since, and officials say the massive stockpile is hampering the cleanup of the site. The wastewater was treated and heavily diluted with seawater to reduce the radioactivity as much as possible before Japan began releasing it into the sea in August 2023. Last September, then-Prime Minster Fumio Kishida said the two sides reached 'a certain level of mutual understanding' that China would start working toward easing the import ban and join the International Atomic Energy Agency's expanded monitoring of water discharges. People inside and outside Japan protested the initial release of treated water. Japanese fishing groups said they feared it would further damage the reputation of their seafood. Groups in China and South Korea also raised concerns.
Euronews
3 days ago
- Business
- Euronews
China to resume seafood imports from Japan after Fukushima disaster
China will resume seafood imports from Japan that it banned in 2023 over worries about the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, a Japanese minister has said. Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the agreement was reached after officials met in Beijing and the imports will resume once paperwork is complete. China said talks this week made "substantial progress," but did not confirm an agreement with Japan on the issue that has been a significant political and diplomatic point of tension. "Seafood is an important export item for Japan and a resumption of its export to China is a major milestone," Koizumi said. Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya also welcomed the move, saying: "It will be a big first step that would help Japan and China to tackle a number of remaining issues between the two countries." But officials said China's ban on farm and fisheries products from 10 Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima, is still in place and that they will keep pushing toward their lifting. China's General Administration of Customs said in a statement that the two sides had held "a new round of technical exchanges on the safety issues of Japanese aquatic achieved substantial progress," but did not mention any agreement. China blocked imports of Japanese seafood because it said the release of the treated and diluted but still slightly radioactive wastewater would endanger the fishing industry and coastal communities in eastern China. Japanese officials said the wastewater will be safer than international standards and its environmental impact will be negligible. They said the wastewater must be released to make room for the nuclear plant's decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks. Tokyo and Beijing have held three rounds of talks since March on the issue before reaching the agreement this week on the "technical requirements" necessary for Japanese seafood exports to China to restart, Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It did not say how long it may take before the actual resumption. Mainland China used to be the biggest overseas market for Japanese seafood, accounting for more than one-fifth of its seafood exports, followed by Hong Kong. The ban became a major blow to the fisheries industry, though the impact on overall trade was limited because seafood exports are a fraction of Japan's total exports. Japan's government set up an emergency relief fund for its exporters, especially scallop growers, and sought alternative overseas markets. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi plant, has said it would compensate Japanese business owners appropriately for damages from export bans. The nuclear power plant suffered meltdowns in three reactors after being heavily damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan. Water used to cool the reactor cores has been accumulating ever since and officials say the massive stockpile is hampering the cleanup of the site. The wastewater was treated and heavily diluted with seawater to reduce the radioactivity as much as possible before Japan began releasing it into the sea in August 2023. People inside and outside Japan protested the initial wastewater release and Japanese fishing groups said they feared it would further damage the reputation of their seafood. Groups in China and South Korea also raised concerns.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
China set to resume imports of Japanese seafood halted over Fukushima water discharge
TOKYO — China will resume Japanese seafood imports it banned in 2023 over worries about Japan's discharge of treated but slightly radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, a Japanese minister said Friday. Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the agreement was reached after officials met in Beijing and the imports will resume once paperwork is complete. China said talks this week made 'substantial progress,' but did not confirm an agreement with Japan on the issue that has been a significant political and diplomatic point of tension. 'Seafood is an important export item for Japan and a resumption of its export to China is a major milestone,' Koizumi said. Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya also welcomed the move, saying: 'It will be a big first step that would help Japan and China to tackle a number of remaining issues between the two countries.' But officials said China's ban on farm and fisheries products from 10 Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima, is still in place and that they will keep pushing toward their lifting. China's General Administration of Customs said in a statement Friday that the two sides had on Wednesday held 'a new round of technical exchanges on the safety issues of Japanese aquatic products ... and achieved substantial progress,' but did not mention an agreement. China blocked imports of Japanese seafood because it said the release of the treated and diluted but still slightly radioactive wastewater would endanger the fishing industry and coastal communities in eastern China. Japanese officials have said the wastewater will be safer than international standards and its environmental impact will be negligible. They say the wastewater must be released to make room for the nuclear plant's decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks. Tokyo and Beijing have held three rounds of talks since March on the issue before reaching the agreement this week on the 'technical requirements' necessary for Japanese seafood exports to China to restart, Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It did not say how long it may take before the actual resumption. Mainland China used to be the biggest overseas market for Japanese seafood, accounting for more than one-fifth of its seafood exports, followed by Hong Kong. The ban became a major blow to the fisheries industry, though the impact on overall trade was limited because seafood exports are a fraction of Japan's total exports. Japan's government set up an emergency relief fund for its exporters, especially scallop growers, and has sought alternative overseas markets. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi plant, has said it would compensate Japanese business owners appropriately for damages from export bans. The nuclear plant had meltdowns in three reactors after being heavily damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan. Water used to cool the reactor cores has been accumulating ever since, and officials say the massive stockpile is hampering the cleanup of the site. The wastewater was treated and heavily diluted with seawater to reduce the radioactivity as much as possible before Japan began releasing it into the sea in August 2023. Last September, then-Prime Minster Fumio Kishida said the two sides reached 'a certain level of mutual understanding' that China would start working toward easing the import ban and join the International Atomic Energy Agency's expanded monitoring of wastewater discharges. People inside and outside Japan protested the initial wastewater release. Japanese fishing groups said they feared it would further damage the reputation of their seafood. Groups in China and South Korea also raised concerns. Yamaguchi writes for the Associated Press.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
China issues countrywide ban on Brazilian poultry imports
China has issued a ban on all imports of poultry and related products from Brazil over an avian influenza outbreak, two weeks after suspending import applications from the country's poultry farms. All direct and indirect Brazilian poultry imports are banned, and will be returned or destroyed if brought or mailed into the country, China's General Administration of Customs said in a website notice dated May 29. It also said all animal and plant waste from inbound ships from Brazil must be treated under customs' supervision and not discarded without authorisation. Brazil, the world's largest poultry exporter and China's biggest chicken meat supplier, confirmed a bird flu outbreak on a commercial poultry farm in the city of Montenegro in its southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul on May 16, triggering a slew of international trade bans. The Brazilian government had asked China to restrict its embargo to poultry products just from the city where the outbreak occurred, but Beijing's announcement showed it had shrugged off the call for a limited ban. China, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are among the main destinations for Brazil's chicken exports. The other three countries imposed only statewide bans. The European Union and South Korea have also banned Brazilian chicken. Brazil exported some $10 billion of chicken meat in 2024, accounting for about 35% of global trade, making a nationwide ban painful not just for Brazilian farmers but also major importers. Brazilian farmers have been counting on warming relations between President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Chinese President Xi Jinping to ease the poultry trade ban.
