Fruit exporters seeking to enjoy zero-tariff to China must ensure their products were from orchards certified by local authorities starting on May 1.

The requirement follows last October's talks between the two countries in a bid to remove import difficulties, especially with regard to sanitation standards for fruit and vegetables under the Thailand-China free area (FTA) agreement which took effect on Oct.1, 2003.

The new standard will cover five kinds of Thai fruits while imports of apples, pears, oranges, grapes and jujubes have to be ensured from certified orchards in China, Somchai Channarongku, the chief negotiator for Thailand, was quoted on Thursday by the Bangkok Post newspaper as saying.

He suggested exporters buy fruit from orchards that received the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) certification from the Agriculture Department, which China has endorsed.

"The new system will benefit exporters, as the Chinese authority will blacklist only orchards that produce poor-quality products, not all shipment from the country," Somchai said.

During last week's talks between Thailand and China's Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (Aqsaq), the two sides agreed to extend the export list of Thai fruit to 23. It means all 23 fruits would be allowed to enter China tariff-free provided they were from certified orchards, neatly packed and easy to trace.

In return, China will propose a list of 31 fruit and vegetable products to be registered for exporting to Thailand with Chinese local authorities, he said.

From October 2003 to February this year, Thailand exported 14.36 billion baht (341.9 million US dollars) worth of fruit and vegetables to China and imported 6.47 billion baht (154 million US dollars) worth of the produce.