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Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service logo Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements (FAVIR)
Effective October 1, 2022 the Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements (FAVIR) database has been replaced by the Agricultural Commodity Import Requirements database at https://acir.aphis.usda.gov/s/


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Commodity Import Report (CIR)

Dragon Fruit (Fruit) from Nicaragua into Continental U.S. Ports
The CIR contains current import regulation information for the selected Commodity Import (a specific commodity approved from a designated country, or region, into one or more designated ports). A flag ( Access Restricted to APHIS/CBP ) indicates information that is intended for and available to an APHIS/CBP audience only.
Selenicereus (Hylocereus) costaricensis, Selenicereus (Hylocereus) guatemalensis, Selenicereus (Hylocereus) ocamponis, Selenicereus (Hylocereus) undatus, Selenicereus (Hylocereus) monacanthus Commodity Summary Guide Page Country Summary

Active Alerts:
  Short Description    
ATTENTION: Selenicereus (Hylocereus) spp. exempt from CITES. Click on DETAILS for more. DETAILS  
ATTENTION: Selenicereus spp. has replaced Hylocereus spp. Click on DETAILS to learn more. DETAILS  

 
Import Requirements
1 Admissible Plant Parts: Fruit
2 Admissible Ports: Continental U.S. Ports
3 Import Permit Required: An Import Permit is required. To obtain a permit, go to APHIS eFile.
4 Subject to Inspection: This commodity is subject to inspection at the port of entry and all general requirements of 7 CFR 319.56-3.
5 Commercial Consignments Only
6 Phytosanitary Certificate: Must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating the consignment was produced in accordance with the requirements authorized under 7 CFR 319.56-4.
7 Port Restriction: Do not import or distribute into or within Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or any U.S. territory.
Instructions for Officers
8 Refer to the Dragon Fruit vs. Pitaya/Pitahaya Identification Aid (https://cbp.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/php/manual/downloads/dragon_fruit_identification_job_aid.pdf) to view the differences between the fruit of cultivars developed from Selenicereus (previously Hylocereus). restricted image
Additional Requirements
9 Fresh dragon fruit (also called pitaya or pitahaya) (Selenicereus (Hylocereuscostaricensis, Selenicereus (Hylocereus) guatemalensis, Selenicereus (Hylocereus) monocanthus, Selenicereus (Hylocereus) ocamponis, Selenicereus (Hylocereus) undatus) may be imported into the United States from the country of origin in accordance with the conditions described in this section. These conditions are designed to prevent the introduction of the following quarantine pests: Anastrepha ludens, Ceratitis capitata, Dysmicoccus neobrevipes, and Planococcus minor.

Monitoring and oversight

The National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of the country of origin must provide a workplan to APHIS detailing the activities the NPPO of the country of origin will, subject to APHIS's approval, carry out to meet the requirements of this section. APHIS will be directly involved with the NPPO in the monitoring and auditing implementation of the systems approach.

The NPPO of the country of origin must conduct inspections at the packinghouses and monitor packinghouse operations. Starting 2 months before harvest and continuing until the end of the shipping season, the NPPO of the country of origin must visit and inspect the places of production monthly to verify compliance with the requirements of this section. If the NPPO of the country of origin finds that a packinghouse or place of production is not complying with the requirements of this section, no fruit from the place of production or packinghouse will be eligible for export to the United States until APHIS and the NPPO of the country of origin have conducted an investigation and appropriate remedial actions have been implemented.

The NPPO of the country of origin must review and maintain all forms and documents related to export program activities in places of production and packinghouses for at least 1 year and, as requested, provide them to APHIS for review.

Place of production requirements

The personnel conducting the required trapping must be hired, trained, and supervised by the NPPO of the country of origin. The NPPO of the country of origin must certify that each place of production has effective fruit fly trapping programs and follows control guidelines, when necessary, to reduce quarantine pest populations. APHIS may monitor the places of production.

The places of production producing dragon fruit for export to the United States must be registered with the NPPO of the country of origin.

Trees and other structures, other than the crop itself, must not shade the crop during the day. No C. capitata or A. ludens host plants may be grown within 100 meters of the edge of the production site.

Dragon fruit that has fallen on the ground must be removed from the place of production at least once every 7 days and may not be included in field containers of fruit to be packed for export.

Harvested dragon fruit must be placed in field cartons or containers that are marked to show the place of production.

Mitigation measures for C. capitata and A. ludens

Pest-free places of production

Beginning at least 1 year before harvest begins and continuing through the end of the shipping season, trapping for A. ludens and C. capitata must be conducted in the places of dragon fruit production with at least 1 trap per hectare of APHIS-approved traps, serviced every 7 days.

From 2 months prior to harvest through the end of the shipping season, when traps are serviced, if either A. ludens or C. capitata are trapped at a particular place of production at cumulative levels above 0.07 flies per trap per day, pesticide bait treatments must be applied in the affected place of production in order for the place of production to remain eligible to export dragon fruit to the continental United States. If the average A. ludens or C. capitata catch is greater than 0.07 flies per trap per day for more than 2 consecutive weeks, the place of production is ineligible for export until the rate of capture drops to an average of less than 0.07 flies per trap per day.

The NPPO of the country of origin must maintain records of fruit fly detections for each trap, update the records each time the traps are checked, and make the records available to APHIS upon request. The records must be maintained for at least 1 year for APHIS review.

Pest-free area for C. capitata

If the dragon fruit are produced in a place of production located in an area that is designated as free of C. capitata in accordance with § 319.56-5, the trapping requirement described in the section titled, "Pest-free places of production" of this section is not required for C. capitata.

Packinghouse requirements

The packinghouses must be registered with the NPPO of the country of origin.

All openings to the outside must be covered by screening with openings of not more than 1.6 mm or by some other barrier that prevents pests from entering the packinghouses.

The packinghouses must have double door at the entrance to the facilities and at the interior entrance ot the area where the dragon fruit are packed.

While in use for packing dragon fruit for export to the United States, the packinghouses may only accept dragon fruit that are from registered places of production and that are produced in accordance with the requirements of this section.

Post-harvest procedures

The dragon fruit must be packed within 24 hours of harvest in a pest-exclusionary packinghouse. Dragon fruit must be packed in insect-proof cartons or containers that can be sealed at the packinghouse or covered with insect-proof mesh or a plastic tarpaulin for transport to the United States. These safeguards must be intact upon arrival in the United States.

Phytosanitary inspection

The NPPO of the country of origin must visually inspect a biometric sample of dragon fruit, jointly approved by APHIS and the NPPO of the country of origin for D. neobrevipes and P. minor, and cut open a portion of the fruit to detect A. ludens and C. capitata. If the fruit is from a pest-free area for C. capitata, the fruit will only be inspected for A. ludens.

The fruit are subject to inspection at the port of entry for all quarantine pests of concern. Shipping documents identifying the place(s) of production in which the fruit was produced and the packing shed(s) in which the fruit was processed must accompany each lot of fruit presented for inspection at the port of entry to the Untied States. This identification must be maintained until the fruit is released for entry into the United States.

If D. neobrevipes or P. minor is found, the entire consignment of fruit will be prohibited from import into the United States unless the shipment is treated with an approved treatment monitored by APHIS. If inspectors (either from the NPPO of the country of origin or at the U.S. port of entry) find a single fruit fly larva in a shipment, they will reject the entire consignment for shipment to the United States, and the place of production for that shipment will be suspended from the export program until appropriate measures, agreed upon by the NPPO of the country of origin and APHIS, have been taken.
Page ID: CIRReportP
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