Draft for stakeholder's comment before 2024-07-11

The purpose of this report is to assess the pest risks associated with importing commercially produced fruit of fig, Ficus carica (Moraceae), from Chile into the United States for consumption.

Based on the internal request submitted by Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), basic culling was the only harvesting or post-harvesting practice we considered. We did not consider any other standard field, harvest, post-harvest procedures, standard shipping, and storage conditions, and/or phytosanitary measures as part of the pathway. The pest risk ratings depend on the application of all conditions of the pathway as described in this document; fruit produced under different conditions were not evaluated and may pose a different pest risk.

We used scientific literature, port-of-entry pest interception data, and information from the government of Chile to develop a list of pests with quarantine significance for the United States. These are pests that occur in Chile on any host and are associated with the commodity plant species anywhere in the world.

The following organisms are candidates for pest risk management because they have met the threshold for unacceptable consequences of introduction and can follow the commodity import pathway:

- Aceria ficus

- Brevipalpus chilensis

The following organisms are likely to follow the pathway but were not assessed in this document because they have already been determined to pose an unacceptable risk to the United States. Domestic regulations are in place for these pests: Ceratitis capitata.

The detailed examination and choice of appropriate phytosanitary measures to mitigate pest risk are addressed in a separate document.