The Chilean Ministry of Agriculture stated that the United States had published in the Federal Register Chile's proposal to export blueberries via the Systems Approach standard, as a substitute measure to the fumigation of the fruit with methyl bromide.
Francisco Lagos, the Secretary of Agriculture of the blueberry producing region of the Bio Bio emphasized, “the Systems Approach is an alternative measure to avoid spraying and damaging the fruit. In addition, it is a great boost for organic production, as fumigating the fruit made it lose its organic condition," he said.
He also said that the "proposed rule will have a public comment period of 60 days, after which it will be reviewed by the United States Department of Agriculture."
"We expect that the final rule will be published in mid-2020, so it should be in force for the 2020-2021 fruit season," he stated.
Source: biobiochile.cl