The director of Phytosanitary Regulation of the National Health, Food Safety and Food Quality Service (Senasica), Guillermo Santiago Martinez, is conducting an official audit in melon production sites that are free of fruit fly in Santa Rosa and Montelibano; the final requirement to approve the entry of Honduran melons to Mexico.
This week, Martinez, the Head of Admissibility and official inspectors of Senasa, Cesar Augusto Noe Pino, and representatives of the Agrolibano company performed on-site inspections in production areas, checked traps in buffer zone, and inspected the process plant.
Meanwhile, Agrolibano gave Senasa the technical documentation they required, including their phytosanitary history in the field, packing plant, and production sites.
Honduran authorities are expected to receive official notification regarding the approval of melon entry to the Mexican market on Friday the 13.
"We trust that the Director of Phytosanitary Regulation of Senasica will give us good news and that we can now send melons to Mexico. This would allow us to send about 15 containers to that destinations in the next two weeks. We have great expectations because there are only four production sites free of the Mediterranean fly in the world, one in India, one in Asia, and these two in Honduras," said Ricardo Paz, the Managing Director of Senasa.
Mexico would join other markets that already consume Honduran melon, such as: Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Central America. Honduras is also expected to start exporting this product to Chile by the end of 2018.
To achieve this goal, we are working in advance to meet all the requirements and to increase production. Currently, Montelibano produces melon in 1,200 hectares in two cycles a year.
Source: latribuna.hn