The United States Department of Agriculture, in correspondence to the National Association of Mango Exporters, advises that APHIS Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service inspectors are on indefinite leave, the US Government cannot guarantee the safety of its employees. In addition, APHIS will close its mango preclearance program in Haiti by the end of January 2023 due to worsening insecurity.

In summary, deprived of inspection, Haiti can no longer export its mangoes to the United States. Very bad news for the sector which represents more than 12 million dollars in revenue per year, half of which goes to farmers.

Let's recall that in 2022 the volumes of mangoes from Haiti, one of the leading producers of Francisque mangoes in the Caribbean and Central America, were estimated to be 48% lower than those of last year. This decrease is mainly attributable to the situation of insecurity in Haiti, the difficulties of moving and transporting the fruit in the country, the shortage of fuel which sees the price of the latter on the black market soar and the international crisis...

Letter from the United States Department of Agriculture:

"United States Department of Agriculture

October 24, 2022

Mr. Ralph Perry

President of the Association Nationale des Exportateur de Mangues (ANEM)

5, Santo 20 Croix des Bouquets,

PAP, Haiti

Dear Mr. Perry,

As per our phone conversation on October 13, 2022, this letter is to notify ANEM that APHIS will close the mango preclearance program in Haiti by the end of January 2023. We are taking this action because of worsening challenges in Haiti that have made it impossible for our APHIS inspectors to safely work. This move is in alignment with information that we have received from the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince.

We placed all ten APHIS inspectors in Haiti on indefinite, paid leave starting on October 10, 2022. Our team will remain on leave until the program officially closes. We commit to working very closely with them, Haiti's national plant protection organization, and ANEM as we move forward with this process.

We will consider reinstating the program if the situation in Haiti improves, in consultation with the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince.

We appreciate your collaboration and the prompt attention to this matter. Please know that the safety of our employees is our highest concern. We are available if you have any questions during this transitional period.

Sincerely yours,

Jorge Abad

Area Director for Central America and The Caribbean

USDA API-IIS PPQ Preclearance and Offshore Program"

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37548-haiti-agriculture-the-export-of-francisque-mangoes-lower-by-48-compared-to-2021.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17250-haiti-agriculture-mangoes-post-harvest-support-of-the-usaid.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17010-haiti-agriculture-survey-results-on-national-agricultural-production.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-9045-haiti-agriculture-haiti-inspired-by-the-mexican-producers-and-exporters-of-mangoes.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-5769-haiti-economy-coca-cola-and-haiti-hope-recognized-in-the-category-of-economic-opportunities.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1496-haiti-economy-two-new-post-harvest-centers-for-mangos.html

HL/ HaitiLibre