China’s restrictions on cargo shipments from the United States to try to prevent the spread of the Zika virus were updated Sept. 7th to only apply to vessels leaving Florida. Initially, the restrictions were placed on shipments from anywhere in the United States, according to U.S. officials.
The mandate originally stated that any cargo (by air or sea) that left the United States after Aug. 5th destined for China ports must provide proof of mosquito treatment.
Under the updated rule, only vessels and containers that originate in Florida need to be disinsected — which can include spraying with chemicals, trapping, air curtains, or other integrated pest management techniques, according to the US Foreign Agricultural Service.
Zika is a virus spread primarily by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito.
As of the second week in September, there had been 43 cases in Florida that occurred locally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There were actually close to 3,000 cases documented by the CDC in the United States, but other than the Florida cases, the virus was associated with travel outside of the country.
“The Agriculture Transportation Coalition said it was glad to see that China had adopted an approach that ‘limits certification measures to those regions that have experienced Zika outbreaks,’” stated an article in the Journal of Commerce about the policy update.
As for those in the pallet industry, the China regulation in general has caused some confusion about what’s required from pallet suppliers. However, the good news is that the requirement applies to the entire container or vessel, not to the goods being shipped.
“Therefore, if the entire vessel can provide proof, in the form of a certificate, that the vessel is free from mosquitoes, then no additional inspection needs to be carried out,” the Southern Forest Products Association stated.
“The entire consignment and container must be anti-mosquito treated and certified pre-shipment,” explained Brad Gething, director of science and technology integration for the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association (NWPCA), who said that mosquitoes are handled differently than wood-boring insects that can dig into a pallet.
“The entire consignment and container must be anti-mosquito treated and certified pre-shipment. There is no action a wood pallet company can do to assure Zika compliance for their customer’s shipment. It is the shipper’s responsibility to ensure the entire shipment is Zika compliant,” he said.
“Inbound shipments without proof of anti-mosquito treatment will be fumigated at the port of discharge in China by the authorities without prior notice,” Gething said. “It is the Consignee’s responsibility to inform Shipper (at origin) to provide a certificate proof of treatment before loading the shipment.”
If you have a customer calling about Zika compliance certification, you can let them know this is not an issue for pallets specifically, but the total shipment on the vessel.
