"Moths Pose Financial Trouble... Hawaii flower growers are reeling over a federal quarantine on exports to the mainland because of the brown apple moth that is found mostly in the state at high elevations.
Farmers and exporters have a lot of questions and fears that Hawaii exports might get rejected in ports overseas. Peter Neifert... His Windward Oahu orchid farm is... certified to send its potted plants abroad, and he does not understand why the quarantine should apply to them. State agriculture officials said the apple moth is generally found in elevations of 4,000 feet and above. The grower sells his orchids wholesale, retail and on the Internet... Without clear directives, growers are not sure if they can risk sending out product if inspectors on the other end will turn them away. "If it gets rejected, we can't bring it back. So, they dump it there and we take the loss," Neifert said. With tons of mainland orders waiting to be shipped by early next week, Neifert is not looking forward to disappointing his customers. "There could be quite a few I might have to e-mail and refund their money," he said. ... California's U.S. Department of Agriculture appears to be willing to give Hawaii farmers a break with a seven-day grace period. ... California makes up 30 to 50 percent of Hawaii's market. Other nursery shipments bound elsewhere may still require other documentation. Growers like Neifert, who exports to the Midwest and East Coast, may have to haul all his plants to the nearest state quarantine center to get reinspected." article Uniform Resource Locators : http://news.yahoo.com/s/kitv/20070504/lo_kitv/13258846 http://www.thehawaiichannel.com/money/13258846/detail.html?rss=hon&psp=news ****************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
