Russell Duncan, Assistant Regional Manager for South America from the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS), and Annabella Reszczynski, a USDA-APHIS Agricultural Scientist at Chile, visited Chile's fruit export fruit sector to get to know, in situ, the sector and its Pre-shipment Program, as well as the actions of the Lobesia botrana National Program (PNLb), and the conditions that make viable the proposal to export lemons under the Systems Approach. Duncan and Reszczynski were accompanied by professionals from the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile (ASOEX), and the blueberry and citrus committees.
"We have organized this visit so that the USDA-APHIS representatives can get to know the Chilean fruit situation and export process in greater depth. Specifically, we wanted to show them the work being carried out regarding the Pre-shipment Program, as well as take them to blueberry orchards in the Region of Biobío so that they could see that it is a crop that has not presented immature conditions of Lobesia Botrana. In addition, we also toured lemon plantations and packings facilities, in order to achieve the implementation of a Systems Approach for the export of this fruit to the United States," said Jimena López, Head of ASOEX's Fruit Department.
Lopez said the delegation had also learned about the work and operation of the SAG / USDA-APHIS / ASOEX phytosanitary inspection sites. "We visited the new facility in Cabrero, where they saw the inspection process of the fruit destined for the United States market," she said.
The Pre-shipment Program, under which the Phytosanitary Inspection Sites operates, is a tripartite cooperative agreement signed in 1982 between the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile AG (ASOEX); The Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) and the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS). The aim of the Pre-Shipment Program is for Chile to comply with the phytosanitary regulations established by the United States for imports of fresh produce.
The USDA-APHIS representatives began their visit on Monday, April 3, with a meeting at the offices of the SAG Central and a tour of the lemon orchards and packing facilities at Hijuelas. On Wednesday they traveled to the Biobio Region, where they toured blueberry plantations, and on Friday April 7, they finished their tour with a visit to the new Phytosanitary Inspection Site of Cabrero in Concepcion.
Source: simfruit.cl