Prince Edward Island table stock potatoes are able to be shipped to Puerto Rico again, a Feb. 8 news release from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says.
The release says the USDA has determined the importation of these potatoes under specified conditions poses little risk of introducing potato wart disease to Puerto Rico.
“After considering Puerto Rico’s low risk for potato wart due to climate conditions, as well as the lack of a commercial potato production industry on the island, we are confident that with appropriate mitigations in place this trade can resume safely, and the U.S. potato industry will remain protected,” Tom Vilsack, USDA secretary says in the release.
Starting Feb. 9, P.E.I. can resume exporting table stock potatoes in accordance with specific USDA requirements and Canadian Food Inspection Agency mitigations, the release says.
Since November, potato exports to the U.S. and Puerto Rico from P.E.I. were halted after potato wart was discovered for the second year in a row on the Island. On Jan. 27 Canadian and American officials met in Washington announcing at the time exports to Puerto Rico would resume within weeks.
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