China has now decided that vessels originating from the United States do not require Zika disinsection certification with the only exception of the state of Florida due to a recent update from the US Department of Agriculture’s foreign service.
The Executive Director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition a group that represents the U.S. exporters of farm and forest products said a lot of time, and effort was put into finding means of compliance, fumigators, identifying the kinds of chemical that would be acceptable for disinsection, and locations where this could be done. What a great relief that this will not have to be done any longer.
China began requiring shipments from U.S.A to present certificates proving disinsection (treatment to eliminate insects) on Aug. 2 after the World Health Organization’s (WHO) listing of the United States as a country reporting mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission. Previously, the only places in the U.S. from which China was requiring inspections were Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
A notice from the USDA’s FAS said, “On Sept. 2, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) stated that it had decided to regionalize its Zika requirements for shipments of cargo from the United States based on a risk-assessment performed by AQSIQ, using data supplied by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). AQSIQ experts determined that due to the low risk of Zika transmission through shipments of cargo, vessels originating from the United States, other than the state of Florida, do not require disinsection certification.” However, if during routine sampling and inspection, local CIQ officials discover any adult mosquitoes, eggs, larva or infected cases, the vessel and its contents will be liable to the full Zika requirements. Furthermore, if a vessel loads or unloads in Florida or a Zika infected country, it is subject to the full requirements.”
Program manager for AgTC, said U.S. exporters are closely watching individual ports in China “to make sure they’re aware of the new terms, and they are not accidentally enforcing something that no longer applies.”
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