The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow imports of citrus fruit from additional regions in Australia, it said Aug. 18. The agency will immediately allow in citrus fruits from the inland region of Queensland, the shires of Bourke and Narromine in New South Wales, and all of Western Australia, in addition to the already authorized regions of Riverina in New South Wales, the Riverland region of South Australia and Northwest Victoria's Sunraysia region. Imports from the three new regions will still require treatment in some cases, and must be accompanied by phytosanitary certificates.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is updating its animal and animal product regulations to reflect the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, it said Aug. 16. Effective on that date, its revised regulations will treat Great Britain, consisting of England, Scotland and Wales, as separate from Northern Ireland in various lists and definitions. Because of Northern Ireland’s intention to continue to follow EU animal health regulations and policies, it will be treated the same as EU member states. Great Britain will continue to be subject to the same treatment that previously applied to the United Kingdom for an interim period, and APHIS will publish another notice when that interim period ends, the agency said. APHIS is also amending its definition of the EU to add Croatia as a member state, it said.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing to amend its requirements for the maturity of imported avocados, as well as avocados grown in South Florida, it said Aug. 12. Under the proposal, the beginning and end dates of annual maturity shipping schedules would run April 16 to April 15 of the following year, with the exception of requirements or Guatemalan avocados, which would run June 9 to June 8 the following year. AMS says new varieties of avocados harvested in the spring have generated confusion as to which maturity schedules may apply to a given shipment. Under Section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Act, imported avocados must conform to the same maturity, size and grade requirements as those set by certain domestic marketing orders, including for avocados.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing to remove Section 8e size, grade, quality and maturity requirements for onions imported during the spring season, it said in a proposed rule issued Aug. 5. The agency says domestic onion producers in South Texas failed to support a marketing order for onions grown in the region in a recently held referendum. “USDA believes termination of this program would be appropriate as the Order is no longer favored by industry producers,” it said. Comments are due Oct. 4.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service added Croatia, Senegal and Algeria to the list of regions it considers to be affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) effective, respectively, Nov. 25, 2020; Jan. 12, 2021; and Feb. 10, 2021, it said in an Aug. 9 notice.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Aug. 5 that Special Import Quota #16 for upland cotton will be established Aug. 12, allowing importation of 11,607,075 kilograms (53,310 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Nov. 9, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by Feb. 7, 2022. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the March through May 2021 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will further limit imports of dogs from countries where African swine fever (ASF) exists, the agency said in an Aug. 6 news release. The new requirements include provisions related to dog bedding and microchip implants for dogs from those countries, it said. A bill introduced this week in the Senate would require every imported dog to have a health certificate from a licensed veterinarian (see 2108040067).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced July 29 that Special Import Quota #15 for upland cotton will be established Aug. 5, allowing importation of 11,607,075 kilograms (53,310 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Nov. 2, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by Jan. 31, 2022. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the March through May 2021 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced July 22 that Special Import Quota #14 for upland cotton will be established July 29, allowing importation of 11,607,075 kilograms (53,310 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Oct. 26, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by Jan. 24, 2022. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the March through May 2021 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced July 15 that Special Import Quota #13 for upland cotton will be established July 22, allowing importation of 11,607,075 kilograms (53,310 bales) of upland cotton, up from 10,452,580 kilograms (48,008 bales) in the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Oct. 19, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by Jan. 17, 2022. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the March through May 2021 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.