Tonga Squash exports

This comes after an arrangement last year when 23 tonnes of squash was shipped to China for the first time.

The CEO of Agriculture Viliami Manu told Radio Tonga that documentation outlines procedures for farmers such as the amount of fertilizers used, the process of packing and eventual export to China.

Dr Manu said Chinese officials wanted to ensure that the pack house was well-equipped and safe from insects.

The planting of squash for export to China is expected to start next month and Tonga hopes to be able to send about one-thousand tonnes of squash this year.

The first consignment of Tongan squash that was shipped to China in December last year has been successfully cleared by authorities in Beijing.

The consignment has been received with positive feedback from the importer in China, Tianjin Foreign Trade Safe Co. Ltd.

In January, the head of Tonga Quarantine, Dr. Viliami Kami, squash grower and exporter Minoru Nishi Jr. of Nishi Trading, Tongan squash broker Danny Bearsley of Bearsley Exports - New Zealand and Tupou Vaipulu of the Tonga Embassy Office in China were in Beijing to witness the delivery of the first consignment.