Panama sent to the United States of America, on September 15, the first two electronic Phytosanitary Certificates through the ePhyto system of the International Plant Protection Convention (CIPF), an international treaty on phytosanitary matters, of which the country is a party. According to a meeting held by technicians from the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) in the province of Chiriquí and the National Directorate of Plant Health (DNSV) with the company Banapiña, Panamá SA
According to data provided by MIDA's Department of Plant Health Phytosanitary Certifications, after these, more than 12 certificates have already been sent to this country and the goal is to continue increasing certificates, exporters and destination countries.
EPhyto, short for Electronic Phytosanitary Certification, is a system developed for the IPPC by the UN International Computing Center. Through ePhyto, the Phytosanitary Authorities of the countries can directly exchange electronic Phytosanitary Certificates, which are sent and received immediately, facilitating trade between trading partners, reducing the procedures associated with exports, reducing the risks of counterfeiting of official documents and making the institutional processes transparent.
The National Directorate of Plant Health of MIDA registered in the ePhyto solution on April 26, 2021, so from that date began the process of familiarization with the tool and training for exporters of fresh fruits and vegetables, selected for the implementation of a Pilot Plan in the provinces of Herrera and Chiriquí.
Currently, 16 companies are trained on this digital platform, one of which is Banapiña de Panamá, S.A, a banana exporter, which showed a particular interest in benefiting from this technological initiative. Later, more exporters and MIDA technicians from other provinces will join the use of ePhyto, to spread the use of this technology at the service of the agricultural sector.
9/20/2021 6:24:59 PM