Northwest Horticultural Council

Country Alerts

The Philippines Requires a Genetically Modified (GM) declaration for Apples

Current situation: A Genetically Modified (GM) declaration is now required for apples shipped to the Philippines. Under this requirement, importers complete and sign the declaration after the arrival of the shipment. The declaration states whether a shipment contains a GM product. Shippers are advised to communicate with their customers regarding this requirement.

Background: Since 2003, the Philippines has had a GM declaration requirement that predominately applied to bulk commodities. In July of 2021, the Philippines Bureau of Plant Industry expanded the GM declaration requirement to 35 commodities, including apples.

Posted: 1/13/2022

Northwest Horticultural Council

Country Alerts

Taiwan Announces Enhanced Border Inspection for U.S. Apples

Current situation: Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) announced that it is increasing its border inspection rates for fresh apples imported from the United States.  The new inspection rate is 20 percent to 50 percent. This announced enhanced inspection rate will be effective from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. The enhanced inspection is an increase from the normal two to ten percent inspection range.

The NHC has requested a meeting with USDA Foreign Agricultural Service officials in Taipei and Washington, D.C., to obtain an explanation for the increased inspection level and engage in problem-solving efforts.

Background: TFDA announces its enhanced border inspection list for food and related products annually. Products on the list will have an enhanced inspection rate of up to 50 percent. TFDA 2022’s enhanced inspection list removed 10 products from 2021’s list and added 15 new products to the list. For 2022, “fresh apple” (H.S. code: 0808.10.00.00.2) from the United States will be subject to the higher inspection rate effective from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. The United States did not have any products on the 2021 list. Apples from Chile are also subject to the same enhanced inspection in Taiwan for 2022.

Click here for more information from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service.

Posted: 12/17/2021

Northwest Horticultural Council

Country Alerts

Mexico Implements New Organic Certification and Labeling Standards

Current situation: Starting January 1, 2022, apples, cherries, and pears must be certified and labeled according to Mexico’s Organic Products Law (LPO) to be sold in Mexico as organic. Packers and shippers are encouraged to work with their LPO certifier to obtain compliance details with Mexico’s law.

Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is providing LPO certification through an agreement with Oregon Tilth and has distributed information on the labeling requirements. Stickers, or amended labels, may be applied to consumer packages with information required by the LPO.

Required carton marks:

• Packer name and LPO client number
• Certifier code number

Additionally, the following information must appear in Spanish:

• Name of product
• Country of origin
• Net weight
• “Distributed by” followed by the packer name and LPO client number
• “Certified organic by” followed by “Oregon Tilth” and the certifier code number
• Ingredient statement (if used)
• One of the non-GMO statements (“libre de organisms geneticamente modificados”, “No OGM”, “Producto sin OGM”)

Use of the LPO seal or logo is optional

USDA organic labeling may also appear on the export carton in addition to the LPO required marks.

Washington state packer/shippers interested in exporting organic fruit to Mexico are advised to allow sufficient time to obtain the required registration numbers.  For more information contact WSDA at organic@agr.wa.gov, or telephone 360-902-1805. Oregon and Idaho packer/shippers should contact an LPO certifier. A list of whom can be found here.

Background: On December 26, 2020, Mexico published a measure (the Measure) stating products which will be marketed as organic in Mexico will need to show compliance at the border with Mexico’s organic law (LPO).

The deadline for enforcement of this Measure was June 26, 2021, which was extended to January 1, 2022.

Despite ongoing USDA efforts, Mexico will not recognize USDA organic certification after January 1, 2022.  U.S. organic products exported to Mexico must be certified according to the LPO.  WSDA provides certification through Oregon Tilth to exporters in Washington state. A list of other certifiers accredited by Mexico’s National Service of Health, Safety, and Agro-food Safety (SENASICA) can be found here.

Product already certified to the USDA’s organic standards may be “recertified” under the LPO by a SENASICA-accredited certifying body, e.g. Oregon Tilth.  (WSDA has a compliance agreement with Oregon Tilth to provide recertification.) WSDA advised that the USDA certification process takes 105 days, and estimated the LPO recertification process to be shorter, entailing a short application form, WSDA confirmation, and virtual interview.

Posted: 12/15/2021

Northwest Horticultural Council

Country Alerts

China Implements New Registration Requirement for Exporters

Current situation: The General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) issued Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Overseas Producers of Imported Food (Decree 248) that is scheduled to enter into force on January 1, 2022.

This decree does not apply to U.S. apple, pear, and cherry packers.

December 1, 2021, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) published GAIN Report CH2021-0143 with updated Decree 248 information stating verbal confirmation that “Fresh fruit producers do not need to register or label registration numbers on packages,” and is located here.

USTR and FAS will continue to provide updated information as it is received.

Background: Northwest Horticultural Council discussions with FAS began in 2020 regarding China’s intent to require registration of overseas production facilities. Decree 248 was published April 12, 2021.

Over the past year, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) have sought clarification on the registration process for the produce industry. GACC was slow to provide guidance and to confirm or deny that fresh fruit packers are subject to Decree 248.

November 10, FAS published GAIN Report CH2021-135 entitled Decree 248 Unofficial Self-Registration Guide for Overseas Food Facilities that provided guidance on how to self-register using the GACC website and is located here.

November 16, USTR reiterated its current interpretation that, according to Decree 248 Article 11, apple, pear, and cherry packers are exempt from this new registration process as they are already registered with GACC per phytosanitary work plan requirements.

December 1, FAS also published GAIN Report CH2021-0150 entitled Decree 248 HS Codes Published in GACC Single Window and is located here. HS codes for fresh apple, pear, and cherry fruits are not included in the list of items covered by Decree 248.

Updated: 12/3/2021
Posted: 11/16/2021

Northwest Horticultural Council

Country Alerts

Egypt Launches Single Window Pre-Clearance System

Current situation: Egypt’s Ministry of Finance issued Decree 38/2021 for pre-shipment registration under the National Single Window for Foreign Trade Facilitation (Nafeza) system.  Full implementation is expected by October 1, 2021.  Both U.S. exporters and Egyptian importers must register with Nafeza to obtain unique identification numbers. After a Nafeza number is assigned both the importer and exporter will have access to training materials and the importer will be able to register an export shipment.

After Nafeza registration shipments may commence.  The new Advance Cargo Information (ACI) system will be used to track individual shipments and requires importers to obtain an identification number for each shipment, called an Advanced Cargo Identification ID (ACID) number.  Egyptian importers will apply for an ACID number and an automatic email will be sent to the U.S. exporter to provide shipment information – within 48 hours of export departure.  Exporters are encouraged to work with their Egyptian importers to provide the proper documents.

 A Single Window Customs Initiative

The new single-window system is administered by Misr Technology Services (MTS) and seeks to modernize and automate customs administration, simplify procedures, and reduce clearance times. The decree requires that consignment documents for Egyptian agencies at ports of entry including Customs, General Organization for Import & Export Control (GOEIC), National Food Safety Authority, and the Ministry of Agriculture’s Plant Quarantine and Veterinary Services must be submitted by the importer through the single window system 48 hours prior to shipment arrival.

The new system was launched on April 1, 2021.  The first users of this system have encountered difficulties normally associated with a new launch of this type.  MTS is actively addressing functional difficulties as they become aware.  See USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) GAIN Report, Egypt Launches Single Window Pre-Clearance System here.

New fees associated with each shipment are estimated at approximately $65, however, these fees should be offset by the elimination of previously required document legalization fees, exceeding $400.

For more information, see July 25, 2021, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service GAIN report here.

Updated: 8/23/2021

Northwest Horticultural Council

Country Alerts

Korea Increases Number of Pesticide Residues Tested for 2021

Current Situation: Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) will test initial shipments of cherries arriving this year for pesticide residues for every packing house shipping to Korea. Packers need to submit an MRL test from every packing house they operate for six pesticide residues, listed below. South Korea will additionally test for residues of any pesticide for which MRLs (from the list of 65 pesticides that Korea has been testing for since 2020; found HERE) have been lowered over the past year. Under a normal inspection program, Korea’s Ministry of Food & Drug Safety (MFDS) requires testing of chemicals that have had non-compliance violations, but this year MFDS added testing of six active ingredients due to the third country market intelligence. MFDS usually updates the 65 chemical list every year by adding or removing new residues based upon violation records. If test results are found to be in compliance with Korea’s MRL standards, no further testing will be required.

The six new chemicals MFDS will test for are listed, below, along with the US and Korean MRLs for these materials:

Korea included these six new MRLs because they are aware of reported residue concerns on cherries for these chemicals in other countries within the region.  Korea is known to watch other markets, and if there is a residue issue, they will add it to their own testing list.  They likewise will add chemicals to their testing list if they lower an MRL and want to make sure new residues are compliant.

The tests are to be conducted on a packing house/exporter basis and not a combination of a packing house and an importer, as done in years past. According to MFDS, if packing house XX passes the first testing, then the result will be saved in MFDS’s computerized import inspection system and this computer system will automatically classify future shipments from packing house XX to products subject to document inspection.  When a new importer imports cherries from packing house XX, no testing will be required.

Although this is not welcome news, it appears to be only a single test on initial shipments.

The California industry has impressed upon the U.S. Embassy in Seoul that cherries are highly perishable, and that a quick turn around on tests results is needed so that shipments may be released.

Contact: If you have any questions, please contact Northwest Horticultural Council vice president for scientific affairs, David Epstein, at 509-654-3713.

Updated: 6/17/2021

Northwest Horticultural Council

Country Alerts

Taiwan Increases Pesticide MRL Inspections

Current Situation: As of March 15, 2021, Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) has increased pesticide MRL inspection of U.S. apple imports to 20-50 percent of shipments.  There have been nine non-compliance pesticide residue violations within the past six months, and a total of 13 violations since April 2019.  Shippers are advised to be vigilant with product bound for Taiwan during this period.

If any importer importing a product under the same HS code product from the same origin has further detections, TFDA will inspect 100 percent of that importer’s shipments. This is now the case for one importer.

Increased inspection rates of 20 – 50 percent are expected through at least September 14, 2021. However, these increased rates may extend to a full six-month period following the last non-compliance violation. USDA Foreign Agriculture Service is still confirming how long the increased inspection rate period will last.

If there are no further detections during this six-month observation period, TFDA will revert to the standard testing rate of 2-10 percent.

Most recently, notices for two additional violations for the fungicide pyrimethanil (Penbotec) (MRL of 7ppm) were published on May 11, 2021.

Previous violations were:

• Three for pyrimethanil (MRL of 7 ppm) since December 2020.
• Four non-compliance violations for pyrimethanil between April 2019 and March of 2020.
• One for the fungicide Penthiopyrad (Fontelis), for which there is no established MRL.
• Three for the insecticide cyantraniliprole (Exirel) for which there is no established MRL.

Contact: If you have any questions, please contact Northwest Horticultural Council vice president for scientific affairs, David Epstein, at 509-654-3713.

Updated: 5/12/2021

Northwest Horticultural Council

Country Alerts

Thailand is Banning Chlorpyrifos Residues on Imported Food  June 1, 2021

Current Situation: June 1, 2021 the MRL for both Chlorpyrifos will be the level of detection, 0.01ppm.

Background:

Contact: If you have any questions, please contact David Epstein, vice president for scientific affairs, Northwest Horticultural Council at 509-453-3193.

Updated: 11/3/2020

Northwest Horticultural Council

Current Open Staff Positions

• No Current Open Staff Positions

Northwest Horticultural Council

U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)

On September 30, 2018, Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America reached an agreement to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  The new agreement, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), will enter into effect only after legislative approval in each country and at some future, yet to be determined, implementation date.

The Northwest Horticultural Council supports ratification by Congress of the USMCA. The trade agreement achieves the NHC’s principle negotiating objectives and provides a solid foundation from which Pacific Northwest tree fruit growers, packers, and shippers will continue their positive and overwhelmingly beneficial trading relationship with customers in these critically important countries.  

The text of the agreement may be found here.  A fact sheet describing the USMCA as it pertains to agriculture may be found here.