In the joint circular issued recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Administration for Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine said China began to allow the import of tobacco leaves from the Untied States as of March 19 according to the quarantine agreement signed by the governments of the two countries.

In order to ensure that the tobacco leaves to be imported from US will not pose any threat to the tobacco production in China, the two departments will introduce the following measures:

-- US tobacco leaves refer to the cured tobacco and burley processed from tobacco leaves grown in the United States;

-- China's quarantine department will send its inspection and quarantine workers with Chinese tobacco purchase missions to conduct beyond-border pre-inspections of the tobacco leaves to be purchased, and only the tobacco leaves that are up to the standard will be allowed to be exported to China;

-- The China-bound American tobacco leaves should not carry any oospores of downy mildew and related harmful living things. The American quarantine department should conduct strict quarantine on those tobacco leaves to be exported to China with certificates of plant quarantine.

The certificates should include the number of contracts and the name of the states or counties the leaves were produced. China will not allow the entry of US tobacco leaves that carry no quarantine certificates;

-- The China-bound American tobacco leaves should be packed and sealed, with the type of the leaves, number of contracts, the year of harvest, and information on the grade and processing plant clearly marked on the package box.

-- The entry-exit inspection and quarantine departments at all levels across China should closely cooperate with each other, and do a good job in monitoring epidemic situations according to the Chinese laws and regulations governing the entry-exit inspections and quarantine of animals and plants.

(People’s Daily 03/22/2001)