By Kemo Kanyi
Sixteen Gambian enterprises have been approved to export groundnuts to China, according to the Gambia Food Safety and Quality Authority (FSQA).
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the FSQA said the enterprises were officially authorized by the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) to access the Chinese market.
The authority urged the approved companies to promptly commence export processing procedures to enable inspection, certification and clearance without delay.
It also called on farmers, aggregators, processors and exporters to strictly comply with Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and all food safety regulatory requirements in order to sustain access to the Chinese market and other international destinations.
The FSQA reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the agricultural sector through effective regulatory oversight, capacity building and collaboration with international partners to improve the safety, quality and competitiveness of Gambian agricultural products.
Efforts by this medium to obtain further details on the identities of the approved enterprises were unsuccessful, as contact numbers provided by the authority were not reachable at the time of filing this report.