2019 Annual Fresh Fruit Workshop
December 13, 2019
Independence Seaport Museum
Colleagues, port representatives, and government officials formed a panel to review and address the trade, technical, legal, regulatory and business issues affecting the import of Chilean fresh fruit into the Delaware Valley Region.
This year, the Annual Fresh Fruit Workshop featured the same relevant discussion, but with a different backdrop. The 2019 event was moved to the Independence Seaport Museum, an organization dedicated to deepening “the understanding, appreciation, and experience of the Philadelphia region’s waterways through history, science, and art.” Roughly 60 attendees came to the workshop to hear from a panel featuring Ed Fitzgerald, GEODIS USA, Inc.; Lisa Himber, Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay; Evan Moss, J&K Fresh East; Frank Mowatt, Philadelphia USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Inspection Office; Elliot Ortiz, U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Kurt Reichert, Western Fumigation; William Spence, USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service-Plant Protection Quarantine; and Russell Vandermark, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. John Ercolani, J&K Fresh East, served as Moderator.
At the event, a wide variety of topics were discussed, with each panelist addressing a different subject, speaking on behalf of their organizations. Himber mentioned how the Maritime Exchange is looking to expand the current wood treatment program, while Fitzgerald explained the various types of entry documentation. Moss reviewed regulations relating to Chile’s main exports to our region, fresh grapes and blueberries, Reichert told of the regulatory issues with methyl bromide.
Representing government agencies, the second set of panelists predicted that the upcoming Chilean fruit season will be business as usual. Ortiz stated that Philadelphia is the busiest port for Customs and Border Protection in the country. Mowatt said his office was expecting no major changes, but inspection fees have gone up 10% since the first of October, Spence stated that he did not foresee any changes either, and Vandermark said that the sampling of Chilean fruit is expected to be the same as last year.
The CACC would like to thank the Independence Seaport Museum for hosting the event, the panelists for sharing their expertise, and the attendees. We would also like to thank the members who sponsored the 2019 Annual Fresh Fruit Workshop: GEODIS USA, Inc.; Holt Logistics; J&K Fresh East; and Western Fumigation.