G/SPS/GEN/1366  
8 October 2014  
(14-5727)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: Spanish  
 
  PHYTOSANITARY EMERGENCY DUE TO THE DETECTION OF 
CITRUS GREENING DISEASE (HUANGLONGBING, HLB) 
COMMUNICATION FROM PARAGUAY 
The following communication, received on 7 October 2014, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Paraguay. 
 
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  1.  Pursuant to Article 6 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures (SPS Agreement), Paraguay hereby notifi es WTO Members of the activities carried out in 
national territory within the framework of the phytosanitary emergency measure relating to Candidatus Liberibacter spp ., the causal agent of citrus greening disease (Huanglongbing, HLB). 
2.  At the 58
th meeting of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(SPS Committee) held in October 2013, Paraguay submitted to the plenary a detailed report on the situation regarding the phytosanitary emergency that had been declared in January 2013 due 
to the presence of citrus greening disease (HLB) caused by  Candidatus Liberibacter spp.  
3.  At this 61
st meeting of the SPS Committee, we would like to describe the work carried out by 
both the Government and citrus producers to contain the disease. The following specific measures have been taken: 
 Destruction of 68,000 infected adult citrus plants in 2013 and 2014. 
 Collection and PCR analysis of 2,818 samples of plant tissue and 608 samples of the vector 
insect. On average, 12% of the sa mples were found to be positive. 
 Inspection of 320 nurseries holding a total of around 800,000 seedlings. 
 Destruction of approximately 2,500,000 citrus seedlings belonging to some 320 producers. 
 Compensation for destroyed seedlings amounting to approximately US$1,000,000. 
 Accreditation of three entities producing certified citrus seedlings, one belonging to the 
Paraguayan Agricultural Technology Institute (IPTA) and the other two to producer companies. Other producer business units are also going undergoing accreditation and will soon begin producing officially certified seedlings. 
 Training and operational coordination events for producers and technicians from citrus 
companies and State bodies, at central, regional and local levels. 
 FAO technical cooperation mission aimed at supporting emergency activities based on 
operational experiences in other areas of Latin America and the Caribbean and at 
establishing lines of support, especially in the fields of risk communication and training, for technicians from the National Plant and Seed Quality and Health Service (SENAVE). 
Two technical cooperation activities took place, the first in March, with FAO technicians, to 
evaluate the start of the phytosanitary emergency campaign and adjustments to the G/SPS/GEN/1366 
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  implementation of the containment plan, and the second, relating to the epidemiological 
study of citrus greening disease in Paraguay, in November, with technicians from the College of Postgraduates of Mexico (COLPOS). Paraguay, in conjunction with FAO, organized the first South American workshop on citrus greening disease. 
4.  Lastly, Paraguay wishes to state that this communication is being made for the purposes 
of transparency within the framework of the SPS Agreement. 
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