Mexico, the United States and Guatemala have renewed a 30-year-old agreement to prevent and eradicate the Mediterranean fruit fly in the region.

The Moscamed program establishes a multilateral fruit fly commission between the three nations to coordinate prevention efforts and protect horticultural production, Mexico's Secretariat of Agriculture (SAGARPA) reported.

The agreement is estimated to provide US$7 billion in net benefits a year.

The agreement consolidates current measures by placing the three agreements shared by the countries under one umbrella. The new system is expected to streamline administrative processes and operations.

In part of the prevention efforts, SAGARPA'S Enrique Martínez announced this past June the construction of a new Mediterranean fruit fly breeding and sterilization plant to help producers maintain fruit fly-free status.

The plant, worth MXN750 million (US$58 million), will replace Mexico's old fruit fly facility, built jointly with the United States in 1979 in Chiapas.

The new plant will begin operation in 2015 and according to SAGARPA, will be the most modern of its kind in the world.

Photo: A female Mediterranean fruit fly by Alvesgaspar via Wikimedia Commons

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