CBP Ensures Pest-free Flowers for Valentine’s Day
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Feb 10, 2024, 0 Comments
Courtesy Richard Pauza,
LAREDO, Texas – As Valentine’s Day rapidly approaches, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s highly skilled agriculture specialists and officers across more than 328 ports of entry continue to dutifully examine hundreds of millions of arriving cut flower stems to ensure that plant diseases and plant pests are detected and stopped from being introduced into the United States where they could cause harm.
At international ports of entry, land borders and mail facilities, CBP agriculture specialists are the front line in the fight against the introduction of harmful insects and diseases into the United States.
“CBP agriculture specialists at Laredo Field Office ports of entry have a massive, important job to examine millions of cut flower stems and floral arrangements in both the passenger and commercial environments to prevent the entry of plant pests not established in the U.S.,” said Director, Field Operations Donald R. Kusser, Laredo Field Office. “These critical inspections help protect American agriculture, the U.S. floral industry and preserve the economic security of the U.S. as well.”
At South Texas area ports of entry, the most commonly prohibited flowers and plant materials are chrysanthemums and choysia (an ornamental filler). These items are not allowed to enter the U.S. from Mexico because they are known to harbor harmful pests and diseases.
While a relatively small number of harmful pests are found among the millions of stems inspected by CBP, a single dangerous pest could cause millions of dollars of damage to our nation’s crops. As of Feb. 7, agriculture specialists nationwide have cleared more than one billion cut flower stems, intercepting 1,581 pests, with 877 of those being quarantine significant pests that could have potentially introduced invasive insects and diseases into the United States, such as Chrysanthemum White Rust, a fungus that can put flower growers in jeopardy.
Individuals purchasing floral arrangements in Mexico for transport to the U.S. should advise their florist accordingly so prohibited plant species will not be used in the arrangement. And as a reminder, all agricultural items should be declared upon entry.
