A large shipment of Thai durian was refused entry to China after arrival at Nanning airport in Guangxi province on Saturday. Chinese customs officials discovered that the shipment did not have a certificate from Thailand’s Department of Agriculture, confirming that it is free of the prohibited BY2 chemical.
Chinese customs officials at Nanning have notified the local Thai agricultural attaché about their reason for rejecting the shipment. The General Administration of Customs of China has also instructed all Chinese customs checkpoints to ensure that all durian shipments from Thailand are accompanied by a BY2 lab test certificate, ensuring that the fruit is not tainted with the chemical, which is used in textile, paper, paint and leather colouration.
The World Health Organization has classified BY2 as carcinogen.
The Department of Agriculture of Thailand has already issued an announcement about China’s strict ban on the use of BY2 in durians for export to China, warning that exporters who violate the restriction may be denied test certificates from the department.
According to the department, some durian wholesalers in Thailand’s southern province of Chumphon were found to have defied the ban by soaking their durians in water mixed with BY2, before they were packaged and exported.
China is Thailand’s biggest export market for durian, estimated to be worth several billion baht a year.
