Papayas and peppers are about to enter the U.S. market, said the agricultural attaché of the Embassy of Peru in the country, Luis Gonzales Bustamante.
He pointed out that there was still no definite date for this to happen. However, in the case of papaya, public consultation in the United States has been completed and the next phase is the publication of the final rule, with which Peru would be allowed to export the fruit.
However, he stressed that while it is about to receive permission to export papayas, Peru isn't ready with regards to production and post-harvest of papaya so he recommended promoting scientific research on this fruit so as to acquire knowledge about how to handle it once it's entry is authorized.
He also mentioned that another product that is about to obtain entry clearance to the United States are the bell peppers and that specific rules to support them have been proposed. "That's good because it means that they are already working on it. We hope that the proposal won't take too much time," he confided.
There are other products in the queue, waiting to be subjected to a pest risk analysis. "There are other products such as figs which are being subjected to pest risk analysis," he said.
Inia -ARS Project
On the other hand, Luis Gonzales referred to the scientific collaborative project developed by the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation (INIA) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), part of the United States' Department of Agriculture of the (USDA). The project will seek to understand and mitigate the effects of climate change on Peruvian agriculture.
He pointed out that the Embassy of Peru in the United States is participating in the project, in a coordinated manner , which will last for three years. The ARS will give guidelines, information, knowledge, training and procedures to research climate change in Peru.
"The important thing about this project is that it will be the first of its kind to determine the effects of climate change on agriculture," he said.
Source: Agraria.pe