Grenada resumes shipping mangoes to US
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) lifted an almost 20-year restriction on Grenada’s mango exports to the US.
On Wednesday, May 3, 2023, notorious trafficker Patrick “Carlo” King transported Julie, Ceylon, and Graham mangoes in the first commercial cargo.
“We have not found any weevils or larvae and it is safe to say that the shipment is safe for the market,” said Pest Management Officer Thaddeus Peters. Peters was part of a two-person Pest Management Unit team that assisted King with visual and internal pest evaluations, particularly for mango-seed weevils and fruit flies.
The USDA-APHIS “Don’t Pack a Pest Program” raised awareness among intra-regional and international travelers about the risks of packing and carrying agricultural items to the US and Caribbean. Commercial exportation resumed almost a year later.
Peters reiterated that the embargo solely applies to commercial shipments, which will help Grenada’s farmers and traffickers earn more foreign cash.
The public should know that passengers cannot bring mangoes to the US. They are reminded that only commercial traffickers with official clearance from the unit and arrangements with a US facility to treat it before selling it can do so.
The Pest Management Unit examined trafficker-identified fields before export.
Evan Alexander, Plant Quarantine Officer, said field trips in the parish “assessed fruits in various areas and recommended the areas where no larvae or pupae were found or signs of the Mango-seed weevil to the trafficker”.
The Pest Management Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Fisheries, and Cooperatives protects the agriculture industry against pests and diseases that might harm food, natural resources, ecosystems, and other areas of daily life.
