Enhanced produce inspection techniques

Pests and insects interceptions in the United States have been a serious challenge for fruit and vegetables exporters in the Dominican Republic (DR).

Despite efforts made by the DR Ministry of Agriculture and producers/exporters to address the issue of increased pest interceptions at the U.S. Ports of entry, pests such as thrips remain a serious problem.

In August 2017, a mission from Miami Airport Authorities and APHIS-PPQ, delivered a conference on market requirements and entry procedures of the U.S.

The APHIS team explained the importance of proper inspection and export certification system to detect pests prior shipping.

The APHIS team also visited two packing houses and highlighted some weak points that may affect the quality of the inspections.

The Export Quality and Safety Program (EQS) implemented by IESC (International Executive Service Corps) is providing support to improve the DR inspection system (infrastructure, training, tools, etc.) following the recommendations provided by APHIS. In this projects, APHIS conducted additional, follow-up hands-on and in-depth trainin