Mexico City, Mexico
February 15, 2012
USDA/FAS GAIN report MX2008
Report Highlights:
The Secretariat of Agriculture published in the Diario Oficial (Federal Register) on February 7, 2012, an agreement that establishes an on-line system (module) to consult phytosanitary requirements for the importation of goods potentially subject to plant health regulations. In accordance with current practices, compliance with these requirements is necessary to obtain an Import Phytosanitary Certification—itself a requirement for importing plant products. This new system could go in to effect as early as on or about April 7, 2012.
Introduction:
This report summarizes an announcement by the Secretariat of Agriculture (SAGARPA) in Mexico’s “Diario Oficial” (Federal Register) on February 7, 2012 that establishes a new online system (module) to consult the phytosanitary requirements for the import of goods subject to plant health considerations.
Disclaimer:
This summary is based on a cursory review of the subject announcement and therefore should not, under any circumstances, be viewed as a definitive reading of the regulation in question, or of its implications for U.S. agricultural export trade interests. In the event of a discrepancy or discrepancies between this summary and the complete regulation or announcement as published in Spanish, the latter shall prevail.
Title:
Agreement by which a Module of Phytosanitary Requirements is established for the import of goods regulated by the Secretariat of Agriculture on plant health issues.
Executive Summary:
On February 7, 2012, the Secretariat of Agriculture (SAGARPA) announced the establishment of an online system to consult the list of phytosanitary requirements (hoja de requisitos fitotsanitaria) for importing goods subject to plant health concerns. Among other goals, the government of Mexico (GOM) intends this module to provide users and foreign trade facilitators with legal certainty. By making this information available online and collecting the various health requirements in to one place, SAGARPA hopes to provide more transparency.
The online system will also facilitate the process of importing goods under Article 23 of the Federal Plant Health Law, by removing the obligation to obtain the list of phytosanitary requirements in person and instead establishes an online consulting Unit/Module for reviewing import requirements. These requirements will be able to be viewed electronically at the point of entry, simplifying the processing of obtaining the Import Phytosanitary Certificate.
The actual phytosanitary requirements reflected in this new system do not differ from current law and compliance is mandatory in order to obtain an Import Phytosanitary Certificate. This certificate will be issued to importers at the point of entry into Mexico by the Office of Animal and Plant Health Inspection (OISA in Spanish) upon verification that the imported product complies with phytosanitary requirements.
SAGARPA, through the National Health Service, Food Safety and Food Quality (SENASICA) will establish the Module in the domain: www.senasica.gob.mx .
Important Dates
1. Publication Date: February 7, 2012.
2. Effective Date: Listed as 60 calendar days after publication
Additional Information
It is strongly recommended to review the whole text of the Agreement to be familiar with what to expect in case of technical problems, emergencies, comments, or modifications. It is important to note that there is a provision in cases where a phytosanitary requirement has not been contemplated for goods intended to be imported (e.g. novel import). The interested party can apply for a determination of phytosanitary requirements through the Module providing the following information:
I. Name or corporate name;
II. Address for receiving notifications;
III. Phone number and email to receive notifications;
IV. Scientific and common name of the product to be imported;
V. Product type, e.g. fresh fruit, seeds, plants, bulbs, etc.
VI. Use, industrial, for consumption, for planting, or other propagative plant material,
VII. Country of origin and source.
As always, the interested party can also apply for this consideration directly at the office of the General Directorate of Plant Health -SENASICA in Guillermo Perez Valenzuela # 127, Colonia del Carmen, Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico, and at the offices of Animal and Plant Health Inspection (OISA’S) located at customs offices at point of entry. SENASICA will notify the interested party whether phytosanitary requirements are necessary in no more than 10 working days.
A similar system was recently implemented for animal products at the SENASICA web page.
For more information
FAS/Mexico Web Site: We are available at www.mexico-usda.com or visit the FAS headquarters' home page at www.fas.usda.gov for a complete selection of FAS worldwide agricultural reporting.
FAS/Mexico YouTube Channel: Catch the latest videos of FAS Mexico at work http://www.youtube.com/user/ATOMexicoCity
Useful Mexican Web Sites:
Mexico's equivalent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (SAGARPA) can be found at www.sagarpa.gob.mx and Mexico’s equivalent to the U.S. Department of Commerce (SE) can be found at www.economia.gob.mx. These web sites are mentioned for the readers' convenience but USDA does NOT in any way endorse, guarantee the accuracy of, or necessarily concur with, the information contained on the mentioned sites.
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