APHIS

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US bans certain citrus imports from Morocco over medfly risk

Medfly (Ceratitis capitata) is not known to be established in the US, except for Hawaii, and would pose a serious threat to US agriculture.

Detections of live Mediterranean fruit flies (medflies) on cold-treated clementines from Morocco has led to a ban on import of tangerines, clementines, mandarins (Citrus reticulata), and sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis) from that country into the US with effect from February 8, the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) has announced.

The ban will apply until APHIS and Morocco’s national plant protection organisation investigate and take “necessary actions to mitigate the pest risk.” 

APHIS said that prior to the Federal Order prohibiting such imports, tangerine, clementine, mandarin, and sweet orange fruit could be imported into the US if subjected to cold treatment and inspection upon arrival. “However, on January 13, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspections at the port of entry in Philadelphia detected live medfly larvae on commercial consignments of cold-treated clementines (Citrus reticulata) from Morocco.

Image of medfly (Ceratitis capitata) larva: by Daniel Feliciano, GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons

The agency said it is also prohibiting “overland in-bond transit movements of tangerine, clementine, mandarin, and sweet orange fruit south of 39° latitude and west of 104° longitude in the US. These prohibitions apply to all importation and movement, including commercial and non-commercial cargo, passenger baggage, international mail, and express courier shipments.”

According to the Federal Order, medfly (Ceratitis capitata) is not known to be established in the US, except for Hawaii, and would pose a serious threat to US agriculture.

Source: APHIS Prohibits Importation of Certain Citrus Fruit from Morocco due to Mediterranean Fruit Fly

Image of a female Mediterranean fruit-fly (Ceratitis capitata).: By Alvesgaspar under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

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US proposes ‘systems approach’ for apple, pear imports from EU

On January 20, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will publish a proposed rule allowing fresh apple and pear imports from 8 EU countries under a systems approach that includes appropriate pest risk mitigations.

Public comment is being sought on a proposed rule under which the US would allow fresh apples and pears into the continental US from 8 EU countries – Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Poland Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.

The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said the proposed new import requirements would replace the existing preclearance program with a systems approach that includes appropriate pest risk mitigation.

“The U.S. would only accept commercial shipments of fresh apple and pear fruit from these countries if the shipments are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate, with additional declaration followed by port of entry inspection. The proposed risk mitigation measures for fresh apple and pear fruit consist of orchard and packing house certification, inspection of registered orchards twice a season, orchard pest control and sanitation, post-harvest safeguards, fruit culling, traceback, sampling, and cold treatment against Medfly in countries where the pest is known to occur.

The proposed rule is due to be published in the US Federal Register and be available for public comment as of Wednesday, January 20. The proposal can be read on the APHIS web site at:http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/federal_register/eu_apples_pears.pdf

Source: APHIS Seeks Comment on Proposed to Allow Fresh Apple and Pear Fruit to be Imported into the Continental U.S. from Eight EU Member Countries

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Spain works on accessing American and Asian markets

Argentina, Brazil, China, Japan, India, Peru and Thailand are among the markets that Spain’s fresh produce sector is actively exploring for new export opportunities.

Argentina, Brazil, China, Japan, India, Peru, Thailand and the United States are among the markets Spain’s fresh produce sector is actively exploring for new export opportunities.

Work on accessing these countries was discussed this week in Madrid by a special fruit and vegetables working group set up as part of the Spanish government’s internationalisation plan.

Fepex, the Spanish federation of associations of producers and exporters of fruit, vegetables, flowers and living plants, said in a press release that the 7th meeting of the working group saw further analysis of problems in accessing non-EU markets requiring phytosanitary protocols, as well as the receipt of updates on work underway to secure market access.

New proposals for opening up markets were also put to the meeting and Fepex said in this context it conveyed, among other proposals, the Spanish sector’s interest in access to Peru for stone fruit.

Priority markets and products

Fepex said among the priority markets and products being analysed by the working group regarding export opportunities are:

  • Argentina: onions, cherries, strawberry plants, apples, peaches, plums, stone fruit trees;
  • Brazil: strawberries, blueberries, strawberry plants, watermelon plant seeds, and aubergine (eggplant) seeds;
  • China: peaches, plums, grapes;
  • Japan: persimmons and tomatoes;
  • India: pip fruit and persimmons;
  • Thailand: stone fruit,
  • United States: Fepex said Spain can now export apricots and avocados to the US under an agreement between the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Fepex. A requirement of the US was that Fepex set up a Trust Fund. Work continues on agreements with the US for the export of Spanish peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, strawberry plants, pears and apples.

The fruit and vegetables working group, one of various groups established under the framework of the Spanish government’s Internationalisation Plan for the Agro-food Sector, includes representatives from the government, including the Spanish foreign trade office, and organisations representing the sector, such as Fepex.

Image: courtesy of Fepex

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US greenlights pepper imports from Ecuador

Fresh peppers from Ecuador may be imported into the United States effective November 23. Under a final rule published by the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on October 23, the peppers will have to have been produced in accordance with a systems approach

Fresh peppers from Ecuador may be imported into the United States effective November 23.

Under a final rule published by the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on October 23, the peppers will have to have been produced in accordance with a systems approach.

“That includes requirements for fruit fly trapping, pre-harvest inspections, production sites, and packinghouse procedures designed to exclude quarantine pests. The fruit will also be required to be imported in commercial consignments and accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organisation of Ecuador stating that the consignment was produced and prepared for export in accordance with the requirements in the systems approach,” it said.

The rule applies to the following peppers:

  • common bell pepper (Capsicum annuumL.),
  • locoto pepper (Capsicum baccatum L.),
  • habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.),
  • tabasco pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.), and
  • manzano pepper (Capsicum pubescens Ruiz & Pav.).

According to the rule, fresh pepper yields in Ecuador expanded from about 12,522 pounds per hectare (pounds/ha) in 1996 to approximately 66,361 pounds/ha in 2006. APHIS estimates imports of no more than 10 containers (200 MT) of fresh peppers from Ecuador into the US annually.

“This quantity is equivalent to less than 0.02 percent of annual U.S. fresh pepper production. Similarly, the estimated quantity of fresh pepper imports from Ecuador (200 MT annually) is minimal compared to the total quantity of fresh peppers imported by the United States in recent years (800,000 MT annually).

“In the United States, the average value of bell pepper production per farm in 2012 was approximately $52,300, and the average value of chili pepper production per farm was approximately $20,700. Both levels are well below the small-entity standard of $750,000.”

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US to allow import of citrus from all parts of Peru

APHIS (the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection) has announced it s amending fruit and vegetable regulations to allow citrus fruit from any part of Peru to be imported into the continental United States, but with conditions.

APHIS (the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection) has announced it s amending fruit and vegetable regulations to allow citrus fruit from any part of Peru to be imported into the continental United States, but with conditions.

A fruit fly management program must be in place, including the use of bait spray applications, registration of places of production and citrus fruit shipments must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate, APHIS said in a recent bulletin.

Under current regulations, the importation of citrus fruit to the US is allowed from five approved citrus-producing zones in Peru, subject to a systems approach.

“However, based on the findings of a pest list and commodity import evaluation document, we have determined that this systems approach also mitigates the plant pest risk associated with citrus fruit produced in all other areas of Peru,” APHIS said. “This action will allow the importation of citrus fruit from the entire country of Peru while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of plant pests into the continental United States.”

This final rule will be effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and will be available as of today (Monday, September 14) at:
http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2015-0005

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US proposes accepting citrus from throughout Peru

Citrus fruit from the entire country of Peru could be imported into the continental United States under a change proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS).

Citrus fruit from the entire country of Peru could be imported into the continental United States under a change proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS).

Citrus imports are already allowed to the US from five approved citrus-producing zones in Peru subject to a ‘systems approach’. APHIS has determined this approach also mitigates the plant pest risk associated with citrus fruit produced in all other areas of Peru.

Currently, the regulations allow the import of fresh grapefruit, lime, mandarin, orange, tangerine or hybrids, sweet orange, and tangelo from the five approved citrus-producing zones in Peru.

The proposed rule would allow the import of these fruits from the entire country of Peru into the continental United States – excluding Hawaii and the U.S. Territories – under the same conditions currently in place.

APHIS said the change is expected to increase the area in Peru approved to produce citrus for export to the United States to about 1,500 hectares over 3 years. “Additional volumes of citrus expected to be shipped to the United States are 5,000 metric tons (MT) in the first year that the rule is in effect, 6,500 MT in the second year, and 8,000 MT in the third year. These quantities are equivalent to less than 1 percent of annual U.S. citrus production or U.S. citrus imports,” it said.

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