G/SPS/N/COL/312  
19 August  2019 
(19-5345) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original:  Spanish  
 
  
NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEASURES  
1. Notifying Member : COLOMBIA  
If applicable, name of local government involved:  
2. Agency responsible : Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario  (Colombian Agricultural 
Institute)  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national 
schedules deposited with the WTO ; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, 
where applicable) : Plantains and bananas  
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:  
[X] All trading partners  
[ ] Specific regions or countries:  
5. Title of the notified document : Resolución N°11912 del 9 de agosto de 2019 "Por 
medio de la cual se declara el estado de emergencia fitosanitaria en el territorio nacional  
por la presencia de la enfermedad conocida como Marchitez de las musáceas por Foc R4T" 
(Resolution No. 11912 of 9 August 2 019 declaring a phytosanitary emergency in national 
territory due to the presence of the disease known as banana wilt caused by Foc T R4) 
Language(s) : Spanish Number of pages : 22 
Text available at: 
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2019/SPS/COL/19_4563_00_s.pdf  
6. Description of content : The notifi ed Resolution declares a phytosanitary emergency in 
national territory due to the presence of the disease known as banana wilt caused by Foc 
TR4 for a period of one year as from the entry into force of this Resolution.  
7. Objective and rationale : [ ] food safety, [ ] animal health, [X] plant protection, 
[ ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [ ] protect territory from 
other damage from pests.  
8. Nature of the urgent problem(s) and reasons for urgent action : The disease known 
as banana wilt (Foc TR4) is capable of destroying 80% of banana and plantain varieties 
and can contaminate plantations for over 30 years . Currently, Tropical race 4 (TR4) poses 
a risk for the production of bananas and plantains worldwide, and since its emergence, it  
has spread to banana - and plantain -producing countries in Asia, Oceania and Africa.  
In Colombia, the symptoms displayed by bananas from the Cavendish subgroup as a 
result of the TR4 attack have raised suspicions, and have led to the issuance of an early 
warning in the country, due to the risk posed by the presence of this disease in Colombia 
and on the American continent.  
Through a phytosanitary surveillance exercise carried out in banana production systems, 
the presence of the fungus  Fusarium oxysporum f.  sp. cubense  Tropical race 4 (recently 
classified as Fusarium  odoratissimum (Maryani et al., 2019)) was detected in the 
department of Guajira . It is therefore necessary to take measures to prevent the spread 
of the disease to other areas of the country, pa rticularly banana - and plantain -producing G/SPS/N/COL/312  
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  regions, and to declare a national phytosanitary emergency and establish phytosanitary 
measures for the detection, control and management of the disease.  
9. Is there a relevant international standard ? If so, identify the standard:  
[ ] Codex Alimentarius Commission (e.g. title or serial number of Codex 
standard or related text) : 
[ ] World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) (e.g. T errestrial or Aquatic 
Animal Health Code, chapter number) : 
[ ] International Plant Protection Convention ( e.g. I SPM No. ): 
[X] None  
Does this proposed regulation conform to the relevant international standard?  
[ ] Yes [X] No 
If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates from the 
international standard:  
10. Other relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  
11. Date of entry into force ( dd/mm/yy )/period of application (as applicable) : Date 
of publication.  
[ ] Trade facilitating measure  
12. Agency or authority designated to handle comments : [X] National Notification 
Authority, [X]  National Enquiry Point . Address, fax number and email address 
(if available) of other body:  
Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo  (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism)  
Dirección de Regulac ión (Regulation Department)  
Calle 28 N° 13A - 15, tercer piso  
Bogotá, D.C . Colombia  
Tel.: (+571) 606 7676, Ext. 1690 - 1340 
Email : ngarcia@mincit.gov.co  
          mgonzalezs@mincit.gov.co  
Website: http://www.mincit.gov.co  
Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario, ICA (Colombian Agricultural Institute)  
Subgerencia de Regulación Sanitaria y Fitosanitaria (Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Regulation Division)  
Dirección Técnica de Asuntos Internacionales  (Technical Division for International Affairs)  
Avenida Calle 26 N° 85B -09 
Bogotá - Colombia  
Tel.: (+571) 332 3700 - 288 48 00 Ext. 1510 - 1515 
Email : asuntos.internacionales@ica.gov.co  
  margarita.lubo@ica.gov.co  
Website: http://www.ica.gov.co  
13. Text(s) available from : [X] National Notification Authority, [X]  National Enquiry 
Point . Address, fax number and email address (if available) of other body:  
Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo  
Dirección de Regulación  
Calle 28 N° 13A - 15, tercer piso  
Bogotá, D.C . Colombia  
Tel.: (+571) 606 7676, Ext. 1690 - 1340 
Email : ngarcia@mincit.gov.co  
  mgonzalezs@mincit.gov.co  
Website: http://www.mincit.gov.co