Pests pose a threat to Morocco’s future eggplant exports to the US

Published 2021년 4월 26일

Tridge summary

The USDA's APHIS has identified six pests in Morocco's eggplants as a threat to the US ecosystem, including the Mediterranean fruit fly and five species of moth. These pests pose a unique risk as they are internal feeders and lay eggs inside the eggplant, making them difficult to detect and rendering the fruit non-consumable. Moroccan suppliers will need to implement risk mitigation strategies to export to the US. Currently, the US imports most of its eggplants from Mexico, Honduras, and Canada, but Morocco's eggplant exports doubled from 2019-2020, potentially making a trade deal with the US lucrative. The USDA will conduct further studies before confirming Morocco as a new eggplant supplier to the US.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Rabat – The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) released a report assessing the risk of pests in Morocco’s eggplant exports ahead of a potential partnership between the US and Morocco. In 2019. the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) researched the presence of harmful, invasive pests from commercially produced eggplants imported from Morocco, determining six species were a risk to the US ecosystem. The Mediterranean fruit fly and five species of moth pose a unique risk to Morocco’s eggplant exports to the US as they are internal feeding insects. Out of the 20 insects identified in the report, the APHIS considered these insects to be most harmful as they are not easily identifiable during the harvest. Additionally, each species lays eggs inside the eggplant which renders the fruit non-consumable. Moroccan suppliers will take several risk mitigation factors before exporting to the US. Brushing the eggplants and removing the leaves will reduce the ...

Source: MoroccoWorldNews