The US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has authorised Peru to export Hass avocados to the US without the need for cold treatment, after determining that the Peru-grown fruit is not a host for fruit fly.
The announcement was made by Luis Valdivieso, Peru’s outgoing Ambassador to the US Luis Valdivieso, and reported by Andina.pe.
Unrestricted access will mean lower export costs for suppliers, better quality fruit for the US market and greater acceptance by consumers, according to Ambassador Valdivieso.
“We’ve got excellent news for all avocado producers in Peru and it’s that their avocados will be able to enter without quarantine treatment,” Valdivieso said.
“This is an extraordinary achievement and news which makes me very happy because we’ve been working for many years to achieve it.”
The US Department of Agriculture opened the US market to Peruvian avocados (with cold treatment) on 28 December 2010 following nine years of negotiations.
The Peruvian government has expressed “immense satisfaction” at the news given that the US is the biggest consumer of avocados in the world, the report said.
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