APHIS Updates Import Requirements for Carnations from Kenya

WASHINGTON, April 6, 2021 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has updated the USDA Plants for Planting Manual to allow the importation of carnation cuttings from Kenya without post-entry quarantine requirements.

APHIS scientists completed a Commodity Import Evaluation Document (CIED) in response to a request from the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of Kenya. Careful examination determined that the carnation cuttings would pose no additional risk of pest introduction into the United States and could be safely imported without the post-entry quarantine requirement if certain conditions are met. The import conditions include requirements for registering places where the carnation cuttings will be produced with the NPPO of Kenya.  Those places would have strict requirements for safeguarding the sites with well-maintained insect-proof screening and other pest risk mitigation measures. Cuttings would need to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration attesting that the plants were produced in a production site registered with the NPPO of Kenya and were grown under conditions specified by APHIS.

In addition to scientific analysis, APHIS solicited public comments during a 60-day comment period that ended July 2019. Comments and concerns were addressed in the final notice.

For full information about this change, access the USDA Plants for Planting Manual at: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/plants_for_planting.pdf. The notice, supporting documents, and the comments received can be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS-2018-0068 in the Search field.