NEWS
California wheat shipments to Mexico resume: USDA
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – May 12, 2006 - Wheat shipments from California to Mexico have resumed after a 10-year ban due to karnal bunt fungus, U.S. Agriculture Secretary
Mike Johanns said on Friday.
Mexico agreed last July to lift its ban on U.S. wheat imports from California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico, after the United States and Mexico signed a letter of intent to recognize karnal bunt-free areas in each country.
Johanns said he was pleased that Mexico had opened its market, adding: "While governments need import measures that safeguard crops from disease, import regulations should be based on internationally recognized scientific guidelines."
Mexico ranks as the United States' third-largest foreign market for wheat, setting record-high sales of $459 million in 2004. It banned wheat from the Southwestern United States after the first detection of karnal bunt in Arizona in 1996.
California's first wheat shipment to Mexico, which departed May 5, is 7,500 tonnes, valued at approximately $2 million, the U.S. Agriculture Department said in a statement.
Karnal bunt disease discolors wheat and creates a foul smell. It is spread primarily through the movement of infected seed.
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