U.S. ag inspections up on northern border

U.S. ag inspections up on northern border U.S. Customs and Border Protection warned importers that a new inspection protocol for agriculture shipments on the northern border could significantly increase cargo delays.
   The border control agency said it will introduce a standard inspection protocol on Feb. 1 for Canadian-grown fruits and vegetables that involves a more formal, risk-based approach for selecting shipments with potential pest and disease problems for examination.
   Customs officers have been inspecting agriculture shipments from Canada on a random basis since March 1, 2007, when the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service lifted a pre-existing inspection exemption for Canadian agriculture products. The government also instituted user fees for truck and rail shipments to cover the cost of additional inspections.
   'To enforce the APHIS regulation, CBP has steadily increased the inspection rate of Canadian-grown fruits and vegetables since 2007,' Thomas Winkowski, assistant commissioner for field operations, said in a statement. 'The inspection protocol is automated, and may cause a noticeable increase in the hold and inspection rate of Canadian-grown fruits and vegetables.'