In order to expand the supply of rice for Mexican consumers and thus guarantee the supply of this basic food basket food and contribute to price containment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development published the requirements sheet for the importation of polished, husked and broken rice from Paraguay.
The federal agency indicated that the National Agri-Food Health, Safety and Quality Service (Senasica,by its Spanish acronym) and the National Plant and Seed Quality and Health Service (Senave,by its Spanish acronym) of Paraguay agreed on a Work Plan that establishes phytosanitary measures to prevent the introduction into national territory of pests of quarantine importance that do not exist in Mexico, such as the Khapra weevil (Trogoderma granarium) or the pathogens Alternaria padwickii, Leptosphaeria salvinii and Phoma sorghina.
The nine mitigation measures established in the work plan include issues such as specific epidemiological surveillance of pests at source and registration with Senave of companies, processing plants, rice mills and quarantine treatment providers, he said.
Likewise, he said, exporters must ensure that containers are cleaned and conditioned before being loaded. In addition, specific traps for Khapra weevils must be placed inside the maritime container in which the product is transported, so that inspection officials at the points of entry can verify the absence of the insect.
Also, the grain must be subject to phytosanitary treatment with aluminum phosphide at origin, methyl bromide at destination, and a phytosanitary inspection will be carried out at the point of entry, during which samples will be taken for phytosanitary diagnosis in order to protect vegetable production in Mexico.
The shipment of rice grain must be free of soil, weed seeds and any other vegetative material other than that imported, such as leaves, stems and roots, said Agriculture.
The document establishes that, in case of detection at destination of any stage of development of pests of quarantine interest for Mexico, the entire lot or shipment will be rejected and will have to return to the country of origin.
he requirements sheet is available in the Module https://sistemasssl.senasica.gob.mx/mcrfi/ with the combination code 1828-112-4600-PRY-PRY.