MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US opens its market for fresh blueberries from Uruguay

The United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) announced the publication in the Federal Register of the proposed rule for the importation of blueberries from Uruguay to the US.

The official release also congratulates the Uruguayan Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries - General Direction of Agricultural Services (MGAP DGSA) for their job in sharing and communicating to APHIS the sanitary information of this crop in Uruguay. "Due to the joint effort between DGSA and APHIS the pest risk assessment and the proposed rule were finalized in record time" says the release. The proposed rule will allow, once the comments are analyzed and answered, the publication of the final rule for the importation of fresh blueberries into the U.S. The rule, Importation of Blueberries From South Africa, Uruguay, and Argentina With Cold Treatment, is available and open for public comment online at http://www.regulations.gov/, by selecting "Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service" from the agency drop-down menu and identified as APHIS-2007-0061.