Mexico Proposes New Phytosanitary Standards on Potato Imports
The Mexican government is proposing new pest risk mitigation standards on imports of potatoes into Mexico, including from the U.S., according to the Foreign Agricultural Service. The draft would establish a list of quarantine pests that affect potatoes and the phytosanitary mitigation measures that would be taken to reduce the risk of importing potatoes from any part of the world into Mexico, FAS said in the Global Agriculture Information Network report. Once the regulation is finalized, the measures will apply to any quantity of potato imports into Mexico from any country, including the U.S. FAS said the draft rule sets out the following measures for high risk pests:
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- Tubers must be produced in pest-free areas recognized by Mexico according to the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISMP) established by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) of the Food and Agricultural Organization; or, tubers must be submitted to irradiation with treatment at a dose of 6,000 Grey degrees.
- For the specific cases of Globodera rostochiensis, Meloidogyne chitwoodi, and Potato potyvirus YN, which are regulated by Mexico, the plant health measures established in current legislation that apply to Mexican-origin potato tubers shall apply.
- Potato tubers must be produced using certified seeds. Exporters must submit a written statement to Mexican Plant Protection officials in charge of certifying the shipment, which indicates that potato tubers contained in the shipment were produced from certified seed potatoes.
Mexico is accepting public comments on the draft. Comments must be submitted in Spanish and must be of a scientific and technical basis, FAS said.
(See the FAS report for the full list of high-risk pests.)