SHANGHAI, May 3(Xinhuanet)-- The Chinese mainland has decided to expand access of Taiwan fruits from 12 to 18 species, and offer zero tariff on at least 10 species of fruits from the island province, according to Chen Yunlin, director of the Taiwan Work Office of CPC Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

Chen said in an announcement here Tuesday morning that the mainland has also made preparations to provide convenience for fruits from Taiwan in terms of customs pass, inspection and quarantine.

"Taiwan's high-quality fruits have high economic value and are a major source of the farmers' income," he said."But difficultiesin fruits sales caused by weather conditions, overproduction and problems in the distribution process often inflict heavy losses."

The Communist Party of China has reached consensus with the Kuomintang Party and People First Party to facilitate sale of Taiwan fruits to the mainland, he said.

After careful evaluations, he said the mainland side has decided to expand access of Taiwan fruits from 12 to 18 species and to offer zero tariff on more than 10 species of Taiwan fruits.

"The mainland is ready to provide convenience in terms of customs pass, inspection and quarantine for Taiwan fruits to access the mainland market," he said."We hope relevant Taiwan departments in charge of the issue will give the green-light for Taiwan agricultural organizations to hold consultations with the mainland on issues concerning the place of origin certificate, inspection, quarantine as well as direct transport to improve efficiency and reduce risk."

China's mainland has been actively promoting the sale of Taiwan's farm produce to help alleviate difficulties of Taiwan farmers. Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, has urged efforts to facilitate the sale of Taiwan farm produce on themainland.

The trade of farm produce across the Taiwan Straits has been expanding in recent years, with annual trade hitting 421 million US dollars in 2004. Of this, the mainland took the delivery of 116million dollars worth of farm produce from Taiwan, up 10.4 percentyear-on-year.

Currently, Taiwan's aquatic products, fruits, food stuff and tea have entered the mainland market, where no special restrictions are set against the entry of Taiwan's farm produce.

The biggest obstacle to the sale of Taiwan's farm produce on the mainland is the absence of direct flights. As the Taiwan authorities ban direct cargo and passenger flights across the Straits, the farm produce of Taiwan has to be transferred to the mainland via a third place, resulting in higher cost, longer time of shipment and more risks.

Analysts say the selling price of Taiwan fruits and vegetables on the mainland could be lowered by more than 10 percent if they were shipped directly to the mainland.Enditem