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“THIRD ANNUAL CALIFORNIA AVOCADO DAY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2119 on Nov. 7, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THIRD ANNUAL CALIFORNIA AVOCADO DAY
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HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM
of california
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, November 7, 1995
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of California Avocado Day and wish to share the significance of this special event with my colleagues. As some of you may know, November 7 marks the most important day of the year for avocado growers--California Avocado Day.
For the third consecutive year, California Grower magazine has organized a full day of events devoted to the California avocado industry. The events will feature important panels and presentations, the California Avocado Commission's annual meeting, as well as the industry's largest trade show. ``The Road Ahead'' is this year's theme for California Avocado Day. In light of the recent events in the avocado industry, I believe the theme to be quite fitting. It is obvious that the avocado industry is at a crossroads, and the future for avocado growers is uncertain.
I an honored that today's ceremonies are taking place within my district at the Escondido Center for the Arts. Two months ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] Animal Plant Health Inspection Service
[APHIS] held hearings at the same site to discuss the proposed rule to modify the 81-year-old quarantine on the importation of fresh Mexican Hass avocados. I joined with the thousands of members of the avocado industry to voice my concerns to any change in the United States policy with regard to Mexican Hass avocados that is not based on sound science.
It is apparent that certain species of fruit flies and seed weevils are known to attack and destroy avocados. For years, Mexican avocado growers have been unable to eradicate pests from their crops despite the use of chemical methods unavailable in the United States. With the 1994 avocado harvest in excess of 550 million pounds, I believe the proposal to allow Mexican Hass avocados into the United States would put the crop at risk. In fact, these insects could very well devastate U.S. avocado production, altogether.
Mexico is currently requesting access to United States markets for fresh Hass avocados based on conclusions from a research study and pest survey data. However, I believe that the scientific data submitted by Mexico to support its request is weak, lacking integrity, and does not justify any change to the current quarantine policy. I am also concerned with the conclusions of the risk analysis performed by APHIS. The USDA must rely on a sufficient amount of credible, hard data before a change is to be made. Never before has the USDA been responsible in designing a system of this type or scale. Therefore, before such an undertaking is to occur, I believe that the science must be sound; the model used to estimate insect outbreak must be as accurate as possible; control mechanisms must be in place; and adequate resources must be available to allow for proper monitoring of the complex system.
The USDA's proposed changes would allow for the importation of avocados into the 19 designated States in Northeastern United States. As one might guess, transshipment of the avocados is inevitable. However, I am not confident that APHIS has established a reliable control system to prevent the transport of avocados into States vulnerable to pest infestation, such as Florida and California. It is quite likely that the United States and Mexico avocados will come into contact with one another. If the pests are present in the Mexican avocados, you can be sure that the United States avocados will be susceptible to infestation. Therefore, I believe this poses a great threat to U.S. crop. The United States should deny, or at least postpone, the importation of Hass avocados until we are convinced that no threat is apparent. This issue is of critical importance to the future of our country's avocado crop.
Again, I wish to congratulate the industry for joining me in sending a clear message to the Department of Agriculture regarding their views on the proposed rule. An overwhelming 1,800 public comments were filed, with a majority of the comments in opposition to the proposed rule. Surely, the sentiments of such a united front cannot be ignored. I agree with the members of the avocado industry who are demanding that the avocado industry not be put in jeopardy as a result of such a dramatic policy change. The avocado growers' request that credible and sound science be employed with the decisionmaking process should be granted.
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