QUESTIONS POSED BY THE DELEGATION OF SENEGAL CONCERNING
AREAS FREE FROM MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT FLY

STATEMENT BY GUATEMALA

The following communication, received on 11 April 2014, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Guatemala.

_______________

1.  In 1995, the FAO defined "pest‑free area" as "an area in which a specific pest does not occur as demonstrated by scientific evidence and in which, where appropriate, this condition is being officially maintained".

2.  In Guatemala, the areas of Los Huistas, Salcajá and Ocós‑Champerico were declared free from the Mediterranean fruit fly by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA), pursuant to Ministerial Decisions Nos. 01‑2011, 84‑2011 and 29‑2013, respectively.

3.  Compliance with the requirements of the FAO definition of pest‑free area in respect of the Mediterranean fruit fly is scientifically demonstrated through the trapping and sampling detection system used by the MOSCAMED (Medfly) Programme in these areas, whose pest‑free status is maintained by applying officially regulated sanitary measures in accordance with the NAPPO and IPPC international standards.

4.  Guatemala's MOSCAMED Programme for the eradication of the Mediterranean fruit fly applies an integrated pest management strategy using cutting‑edge technology. The main component of this strategy is the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), which is applied on an area‑wide basis using a modern plant that produces sterile males of the Mediterranean fruit fly (the largest of its kind in the world). The plant is certified with ISO 9001:2008 quality standards and has an installed production capacity of 3 billion TSL strain pupae per week.