The increase in the smuggling of Bolivian agricultural products in northern Chile has led to a proliferation of the fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) and has raised a red flag for the country's health authorities, stated El Mercurio newspaper.
According to the publication, the cities most affected by the fruit fly plague are Pica, Alto Hospicio, and Iquique. Chile's Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG) mobilized 200 officers to help control the situation.
The regional director of SAG Tarapaca, Cesar Cardozo, said that so far they had made no findings in local productions, so the plague was the result of "the clandestine entry of agricultural products that are infested with the plague. When said products are not sold, they are abandoned, they decay, and the insect completes its life cycle."
So far, authorities have found 42 outbreaks of the insect and, even though the local production hasn't been infected yet, authorities adopted quarantine measures to prevent the plague from spreading.
As part of the control protocols, Pica farmers can't sell their fruit outside the region if their crops are less than 200 meters away from one of the plague centres. If their crops are outside that perimeter, their products must be reviewed and authorized by the SAG.
Authorities also installed phytosanitary barriers at the customs offices of Quillagua, El Loa, the Huara - Colchane route, and at the airport of Iquique. In addition, authorities installed one thousand traps.
The problem is on the rise. In 2014, the country seized 9,619 kilos of smuggled fruit. Last year, they seized 22,960 kilos, and so far this year, they have already seized 11 thousand kilos.
The products that are confiscated the most are lemons, mangoes, and bananas.
Source: lostiempos.com