A recent lawsuit filed by several California table grape growers, challenging the approval of the Systems Approach protocol for Chilean grape imports, may tarnish an otherwise successful season for the South American country.
The protocol was approved in June after more than 20 years of bilateral work, with the first shipments expected by November. However, California growers argue that the authorization unlawfully abandons traditional, time-tested safeguards and exposes U.S. grape producers to significant risks and costs, particularly those related to invasive pests.
Chilean Table Grape Development Research Commission (Uvanova) VP Dragomir Lujbetic told FreshFruitPortal.com that opposition is to be expected. “It is normal when such an approval is enacted,” he said.
“It bothers us because we are on the verge of starting the harvest,” he said.
Similarly, the president of the Federation of Fruit Producers of Chile (Fedefruta), Víctor Catán, expressed that “we believe that this lawsuit lacks a certain logic since the protocol is very rigorous to ensure the conservation of the phytosanitary heritage of the United States and this is mainly for the benefit of Californian producers”.
Despite the news, he emphasized that the sector remains calm and that “we will continue to fight the issue, but in a very good way. We are giving the technical guarantees, control and monitoring that allow the fruit to be free of the pest”.
Catán also pointed out that the Systems Approach is the same protocol that exists for citrus entering the American market.
“The protocol has been working for more than 10 years in citrus, it has given the guarantee and we have shown that the same pest that they are discussing has not entered,” he said.
Asked if the lawsuit could impact the protocol’s approval, he was clear in saying “I think not”.
The protocol states that the grower must present the orchard from which the fruit is being exported. The orchard is monitored one month or 15 days before harvest, and samples of bunches are sent to a laboratory to determine if any pests are present.
If approved for export to the U.S. under the Systems Approach, the fruit is packed and presented accordingly. Samples are taken from the packed boxes and sent to a laboratory to verify compliance with the packaging information. A third monitoring step could also be ordered in the U.S.
Based on these three steps, Uvanova's VP noted that due to demand, there could be oversampling of incoming fruit, “which could hinder the fruit’s departure from the ports.”
