USDA TO REDUCE SOUTHWEST PORTS FOR UNTREATED MEXICAN CITRUS

USDA TO REDUCE SOUTHWEST PORTS FOR UNTREATED MEXICAN CITRUS    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has proposed to reduce the number of Southwest ports that will receive untreated Mexican citrus en route to other countries.
   The agency’s rules allow untreated Mexican oranges, tangerines and grapefruits to enter the United States at the ports of Nogales, Ariz. and the Texas ports of Brownsville, Eagle Pass, El Paso, Hidalgo and Laredo for export by water to another country.
   APHIS wants to remove Brownsville and Hidalgo as ports of entry for this type of citrus. Also, the agency wants to eliminate Brownsville as an authorized port for export by water for the fruit.
   “We are proposing these actions because it has been more than 20 years since any shipments of untreated citrus from Mexico have been imported into the United States through either port,” APHIS said. “Additionally, the port of Hidago … no longer handles cargo; that port now handles only pedestrians and passenger vehicles.”
   APHIS said a new rule would “accurately reflect the ports that are used for those purposes.”
   The agency said it would take comments from the industry regarding the proposed rule through May 20. For more information, contact Pam Byrne, senior operations officer for APHIS port operations, at (301) 734-5242.