Customers purchase fruits imported from Thailand at a supermarket in Nanjing. (China Daily)

The trade of agricultural produce between China and her ASEAN neighbours has benefitted from an early-harvest programme that was put in place earlier this year.

The success of the tariff-cutting programme, which some dubbed as "a trial move," will be conducive to the eventual realization of a free trade area (FTA) between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), potentially creating the world's largest FTA, analysts say.

According to General Administration of Customs, China imported a total of US$330 million worth of fruits and vegetables from ASEAN countries in the first half of the year, reflecting an increase of 38.7 per cent year-on-year.

During the same period, China's exports stood at US$270 million, jumping by 33.9 per cent.

The sharp growth should be attributed to the launch of the early-harvest programme, which is part of the FTA framework agreement signed by China and the ASEAN in 2002, said Fan Ying, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University.

Under the programme, which was implemented on January 1, the two sides have cut tariffs on about 600 agricultural imports between 2 and 15 per cent, and agreed to scrap these tariffs in 2006.

Thailand has taken the lead among the ASEAN members in initiating this free trade accord as it has phased out all taxes on 188 fruits and vegetables with China starting last October.

This bold move has resulted in great benefits.

The country's exports of fruits and vegetables to China increased more than 30 per cent to stand at US$210 million from January to June, accounting for 64 per cent of ASEAN's total exports.

"Judging from the figures, the programme is a win-win deal for the two sides," Fan said.

The robust trade increases also benefit consumers on both sides, as they witnessed a fall in prices on the fruit market.

Prices of some tropical fruits imported from Thailand decreased by 50 per cent in Beijing, compared with last year.

Also, Chinese pears and apples are being sold at much lower prices in Thailand, sources said.

"Their prices dropped by 40 to 50 per cent," said a Chinese retailer who has business in Thailand.

In addition, the programme helps eliminate smuggling of fruits and vegetables across the China-ASEAN borders.

With the zero-tariff programme in place, smuggling of fruits and vegetables will be impeded, Fan said.

In a larger picture, Fan said, the early-harvest programme boosted the confidence for both China and ASEAN nations in establishing the FTA as scheduled.

China and AESAN are complementary with each other in terms of the trade of fruits and vegetables, Fan said.

ASEAN members export tropical fruits and vegetables to China and imports temperate ones.

"They don't compete with each other," she said. "This is also the reason why the two sides decided to begin the FTA construction by eliminating tariffs on agricultural imports."

The programme is successfully fulfilling its role as a trial move, she said.

"The early-harvest success demonstrates that the FTA will also be a win-win deal for both sides," she said, adding a good beginning increases the likelihood of ultimate success.

"It also soothed some earlier worries that China will be the major beneficiary of the agreement," she said.

Fan also believes the experience and lessons we learned from the early-harvest programme will help the two sides better carry out the FTA schedule on industrial co-operation and investment facilitation.

The ASEAN nations also pin high hopes on the FTA proceeding, currently represented by the early-harvest programme.

Indonesia expects that its exports to China will soar to US$5.8 billion in 2007 from US$2.9 billion in 2003.

China and the ASEAN have agreed to establish a FTA in 2010, the world's largest with a coverage of 1.7 billion consumers and a combined gross domestic product of US$2 trillion.

However, experts cautioned that setbacks may arise in the future, when the two sides begin eliminating and reducing the duties of industrial imports. "By contrast, agreements will be easier in the agricultural produce market, as the two parties are complementary in the agricultural sector," Fan said. "But in some industrial sectors, they compete with each other and thus problems may occur."

(China Daily)

ASEAN : the Association of Southeast Asian Nations （東南亞國家聯(lián)盟）

put in place: （簽署，實施）

tariff: duties or a duty imposed by a government on imported or exported goods（關(guān)稅）

year-on-year: （與上年同期數(shù)字相比的）

scrap: to discard as worthless; junk（扔棄）

phase out: to stop gradually（使逐步淘汰, 逐漸停止）

tropical: of, occurring in, or characteristic of the Tropics（熱帶的）

zero-tariff: （零關(guān)稅）