Oral: When Science and Politics Collide: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
49-S
Impact on industry's imports and exports of a pest being listed.
S. THOMAS (1) (1) Monsanto, U.S.A.
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The vegetable seed industry is global in nature. It is common to produce seeds in one country, process in another then deliver them to growers all over the world. The movement of seeds is regulated in that phytosanitary certificates are required for these country to country movements. Frequently, additional declarations (e.g., the lot has been tested and found free of a pathogen) are required as part of the phytosanitary certificate process. The challenge that the industry faces is the rapid adoption of new declarations by importing countries. Irrespective of the validity of the data to drive the regulation change, the seed industry must meet the country requirement for seed to enter. The International Seed Federation has undertaken an effort to review the declarations to move seed and found that 75% of them have no scientific basis. This talk will touch on how the industry responds to changes in phytosanitary requirements through partnerships with academic and regulatory personnel to drive science-based decisions to free up trade lanes.