Brazil to reopen borders to Argentina’s apples and pears

Following several weeks of closure, Brazil has agreed to lift its ban on Argentinian pears, apples, and quinces entering the country. The agreement was reached during meetings on Wednesday, March 6, between officials from the two countries seeking a resolution to the issues which led to the border closure on February 27. Brazil’s Department of Plant Health and Agricultural Consumption intercepted 9 shipments of Argentinian fruit with carpocapsa in January and February.

Technicians from the National Plant Protection Directorate of Senasa explained how it intends to strengthen pest control in the Alto Valle. Industry representatives claim that only 500 of a total of 1,200 officially recognised producers in the Upper Valley of Rio Negro and Neuquen currently comply with all the control regulations. However, the government of Rio Negro disagrees with this assessment: “There are very few producers that do not carry out controls and there are 3,000 hectares of abandoned fruit trees; that weighs more than inefficient controls,” said a provincial source to Telam, as reports clarin.com