The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow imports of fresh turmeric (Curcuma longa) rhizome from Samoa, it said in a notice released Sept. 26. Importation will be subject to "one or more designated phytosanitary measures ... to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds,” APHIS said. Imports may be authorized beginning Sept. 27.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow imports of non-precleared sand pears from South Korea into all U.S. ports, it said in a notice released Sept. 26. Previously, non-precleared sand pears from the country could be imported only into the Port of Honolulu, and only fruit imported under an APHIS preclearance program was allowed into all ports (see 2103120030). The non-precleared sand pears will be subject to the import conditions of the “systems approach” currently required for precleared fruit. Imports may be authorized at all U.S. ports beginning Sept. 27, APHIS said.
USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Sept. 22 that Special Import Quota #23 for upland cotton will be established Sept. 29, allowing importation of 12,112,732 kilograms (55,633 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Dec. 27, 2022, and entered into the U.S. by March 27, 2023. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the May through July 2022 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is beginning its annual certification visits for greenhouse facilities that wish to export Pelargonium spp. unrooted plant cuttings, it said Sept. 21. The certifications are required for any shipments from countries where Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 is known to occur, APHIS said. The agency plans to complete inspections by March 1, 2023, for facilities shipping during the 2022-23 season, it said. Those interested in scheduling a certification visit should send official correspondence from the National Plant Protection Organization of the exporting country to APHIS by Oct. 15, APHIS said.
CBP and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program will on Sept. 26 begin risk-based sampling (RBS) for banana and plantain shipments at U.S. ports of entry, APHIS said. “There are no changes to the required entry paperwork; however, PPQ and CBP recommend that trade entities file entry paperwork prior to arrival if possible and include APHIS Core Message Set data to ensure their shipments are processed according to RBS procedures,” APHIS said.
USDA on Sept. 15 announced the establishment of the tariff rate quota for refined and specialty sugars (including syrups and molasses) for fiscal year 2023 (Oct. 1, 2022 - Sept. 30, 2023). The FY23 refined and specialty sugar TRQ will be established at 222,000 metric tons raw value (MTRV) for certain sugars, syrups and molasses, which is the same as the quota announced for FY22 (see 2109100027).
USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Sept. 15 that Special Import Quota #22 for upland cotton will be established Sept. 22, allowing importation of 12,112,732 kilograms (55,633 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Dec. 20, 2022, and entered into the U.S. by March 20, 2023. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the May through July 2022 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
Lithuania will now be eligible to export egg products to the U.S., the Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a notice released Sept. 14. “FSIS has reviewed Lithuania's laws, regulations, and inspection system, as implemented, and has determined that Lithuania's egg products inspection system is equivalent to the food safety inspection system for egg products that the United States has established under the Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA) and its implementing regulations,” FSIS said. Egg products produced in certified Lithuanian establishments are eligible for export as of Sept. 15, it said. “All such products will be subject to reinspection at U.S. points-of-entry by FSIS inspectors.”
USDA is extending until Dec. 31 the entry period for the fiscal year 2022 raw sugar tariff-rate quota, it said Sept. 9. The entry period had previously been set to end Oct. 31, after a prior extension from its original Oct. 1 end date (see 2207080046). “This action is being taken after a determination that additional supplies of raw cane sugar are required in the U.S. market. USDA will closely monitor stocks, consumption, imports and all sugar market and program variables on an ongoing basis,” it said.
USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Sept. 8 that Special Import Quota #21 for upland cotton will be established Sept. 15, allowing importation of 12,112,732 kilograms (55,633 bales) of upland cotton, down from 12,641,719 kilograms (58,062 bales) in the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Dec. 13, 2022, and entered into the U.S. by March 13, 2023. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the May through July 2022 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.