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PPQ 2022 Annual Report

Strengthening Pest Exclusion at the Border

Table of Contents

Agricultural Quarantine Inspection.......................................................................................................................... 1

Cooperative Program Management...................................................................................................................... 3

CBP-Facilitated Port-of-Entry Inspections............................................................................................................. 4

Propagative Plant Inspection................................................................................................................................. 4

Pest Identification.................................................................................................................................................. 5

Risk Analysis and Methods Development ............................................................................................................. 6

Pre-Departure Inspections .................................................................................................................................... 6

Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance (SITC) ........................................................................................... 7

Treatment Program............................................................................................................................................... 7

Permitting.............................................................................................................................................................. 7

 

Agricultural Quarantine Inspection 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program and the 

Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection (CBP) safeguard U.S. agricultural 

and natural resources from the introduction of invasive pests and diseases through the Agricultural 

Quarantine Inspection (AQI) program. PPQ assesses the risks associated with international trade and 

specific imported agricultural products and develops import regulations to exclude foreign pests and 

diseases and protect U.S. agriculture.
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In addition, the Agency conducts off-shore pest risk reduction activities including foreign commodity 

pre-clearance programs; trains agricultural inspectors and detector dog teams to work at U.S. ports of 

entry; inspects and takes action as necessary on imported plant propagative materials; monitors the 

fumigation of arriving containers and cargo to mitigate pest risks; conducts trade compliance activities 

to detect violations of PPQ’ import regulations and prevent smuggling; and provides the scientific 

support necessary to carry out these activities and those carried out by CBP, including, among other 

things, the authoritative and timely identification of pests necessary to determine whether regulatory 

actions on imported products are required.

PPQ collects AQI user fees under the authority of The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act 

of 1990, to recover costs for services provided by PPQ and CBP associated with preclearance 

inspections of passengers and the port-of-entry arrival of commercial vessels, trucks, loaded railroad 

cars, aircraft, and passengers entering the United States from a foreign destination. Due to continuing 

impacts of travel reductions related to COVID-19, FY 2021 AQI user fee collections were 

approximately 25 percent lower than FY 2019, the last full fiscal year prior to the pandemic.

To ensure that the program could continue operations to prevent the entry of foreign pests and diseases, 

the FY 2022 Appropriations Act, Consolidated, provided $250 million for the AQI program. PPQ

inspectors oversee the preclearance of certain commodities through inspecting shipments for export, 

monitoring treatments where required, or by monitoring systems approaches for pest mitigation (a 

combination of integrated pest management practices used in the field and after harvest). In most cases, 

exporters of the pre-cleared commodity cover the costs of this PPQ service through trust funds 

established for this purpose.
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PPQ also receives appropriated funding for pre-departure inspections of passengers and cargo traveling 

from Hawaii and Puerto Rico to the continental United States to prevent the introduction of non-native 

agricultural pests and diseases into the continental United States while facilitating the movement of 

travelers and agricultural goods. PPQ inspects all passenger baggage leaving these islands because of the 

risks associated with pests of fruits and vegetables grown in these areas.

When inspectors identify an item that poses a specific risk, they take immediate action to prevent the 

entry of materials that could harbor the pest or disease in question. This action prevents damage to the 

country’s agricultural industry and negates the need for costly control and eradication programs. PPQ

also partners with industry groups and State and Commonwealth counterparts to facilitate the safe 

movement of cargo. In Hawaii, the State Department of Agriculture conducts nursery inspections and 

certifies nursery stock on PPQ’s behalf for shipment to the continental United States. 

Cooperative Program Management

PPQ works with CBP to protect America’s agricultural resources and food supply through inspecting 

international passenger baggage, cargo, and conveyances. PPQ and CBP share management of the 

program through working groups and daily collaboration. Senior leadership of both agencies meet 

frequently to develop joint plans and coordinate efforts in priority areas, ensure clear and balanced 

decision-making, streamline effective outreach and communication, and improve organizational 

structure and leadership to support the shared work in the agriculture safeguarding mission.

In FY 2022, PPQ trained 273 new CBP Agriculture Specialists, conducted Basic Agricultural Threat 

Training for 1,728 first-line CBP officers, and provided Agriculture Fundamentals Training for 24 CBP 

Import Specialists. In addition, PPQ provided training support to CBP Agriculture Specialists who 
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delivered military cooperator inspector training to certify 335 Department of Defense (DOD) 

cooperators who perform agriculture quarantine inspections in mainland U.S. military installations. 

These cooperators prevent the entry of agricultural pests and diseases associated with military 

equipment and/or personnel returning from overseas military installations to the United States. 

Additionally, PPQ trained 63 canine teams and 20 agriculture field trainers for CBP.

CBP-Facilitated Port-of-Entry Inspections 

In FY 2022, approximately 314 million passengers and pedestrians entered the United States by air, bus, 

ship, train, or on foot. The program also conducted secondary agricultural inspections of 339,385 of the 

82.5 million passenger vehicles entering the United States from Canada and Mexico in FY 2022. In 

addition, inspectors cleared 32,349 ships and 2.8 million cargo, mail, and express carrier shipments, 

intercepting 61,711 pests. 

Propagative Plant Inspection 

Importations of nursery stock and other propagative plant materials can serve as significant pathways for 

invasive pests and diseases. To reduce the risks associated with such imports, PPQ requires that certain 

imported plant materials enter the United States through 16 plant inspection stations located at ports of 

entry throughout the country and territories at major international airports and seaports, and at major 

crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border. Specialists at these stations inspect shipments to ensure that 

imported plants and seeds do not contain pests and diseases of regulatory significance. 

In addition, they enforce the regulations that apply to the import and export of plant species protected by 

the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 
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Fauna and Flora. In FY 2022, inspectors cleared 26,176 imported shipments containing 2.22 billion 

plant units (cuttings, rooted plants, tissue culture, etc.) and over 525,898 kilograms of seeds of woody 

plants. Through these inspections, PPQ employees detected 3,820 pests of which 1,702 were quarantinesignificant pests at the plant inspection stations. In addition, the stations conducted 3,255 treatments or 

other actions to remediate pests on more than 12 million plant units and 3,524 kilograms of seed. 

Pest Identification 

When pests are detected in cargo, the program must identify them to determine if they are considered 

quarantine-significant under PPQ regulations (i.e., if they are exotic and could pose a significant threat 

to U.S. plant health, if the program can allow the cargo entry into the United States, and what, if any, 

mitigation measures would be required.) In FY 2022, PPQ processed and identified more than 109,000 

pest interceptions, with approximately 53,200 being quarantine-significant.

PPQ continued its use of digital imaging technology for pest identification in FY 2022 to support limited 

staff presence in the pest identification laboratories to protect the health of employees from COVID-19 

exposure. PPQ National Specialists performed 77 percent of their identification based on digital images, 

an increase of 4 percent over FY 2021. PPQ will continue the use of digital imaging technology as 

means to improve the timeliness of pest identifications for urgent submissions (i.e., those for which 

cargo is on hold pending a pest identification). 

PPQ and CBP use the Cargo Release Authority (CRA) program to reduce the numbers of pests that CBP 

must submit to PPQ for identification, speeding up the inspection process for shipments that contain no 

suspect quarantine pests. Through the CRA program, PPQ provides training and job aids that allow CBP 

Agriculture Specialists to recognize frequently intercepted, easily identifiable, low-risk organisms, and 
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to release the cargo if the organism is not a quarantine-significant pest. PPQ grants CRA after the 

Agriculture Specialist has successfully identified a particular pest a certain number of times and 

submitted documentation to PPQ.

PPQ and CBP initiated a review of the program in FY 2022 and will relaunch the full CRA program 

during FY 2023. 

Risk Analysis and Methods Development

PPQ develops pest risk analyses and epidemiological approaches to support and improve pest exclusion 

programs and decision making. In FY 2022, PPQ completed approximately 278 risk analyses associated 

with imports, exports, invasive pest threats, and other programmatic requirements. This total includes 33 

analyses to open, expand, or maintain export markets for U.S. producers and 48 risk assessments for

import requests from foreign countries.

The laboratory’s work also included evaluations of 10 newly detected pests by the New Pest Advisory 

Group, 9 pathway analyses and spread models, 2 economic analyses supporting operational and policy 

decisions, and 8 New Pest Response Guidelines for preparedness purposes. These products identify 

potentially harmful plant pests and diseases and help PPQ decide what mitigating actions to take to 

prevent their entry into or limit their spread or economic impact within the United States.

Pre-Departure Inspections

PPQ inspected the baggage of more than 14.4 million passengers before they left Hawaii and Puerto 

Rico and intercepted approximately 292,698 prohibited items and 4,834 quarantine-significant pests in 
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FY 2022. PPQ conducts commodity certification and inspection programs to facilitate interstate trade

between Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the continental United States. In FY 2022, the program conducted 

48,548 inspections of regulated agricultural commodities shipped from Hawaii and Puerto Rico. In 

addition, the program oversaw or conducted 6,779 cargo treatments in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. 

Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance (SITC) 

SITC identifies and closes smuggling pathways for prohibited agricultural products into U.S. commerce. 

SITC works closely with CBP to identify and target agricultural risks at the ports of entry before they 

enter U.S. commerce. In FY 2022, SITC conducted over 11,613 market surveys and seized 2,929 

prohibited agricultural items in retail commercial locations. In addition, SITC initiated 1,613 product 

traces including 278 items from internet sales and 202 from courier surveys. Those seizures totaled 

339,408 pounds of prohibited and/or restricted plants, plant products, meat, and meat products valued at 

approximately $2.1 million. Additionally, SITC conducted 19 recalls for restricted material, including 

noncompliant wooden handicrafts and grain products. Total seizures as a result of recalls weighed 

48,843 pounds and had an estimated value of $713,915. 

Treatment Program

PPQ supports U.S. imports of plants and plant products by facilitating and monitoring phytosanitary 

treatments. PPQ facilitated entry of regulated agricultural cargo through the monitoring of 15,347

fumigations and 38,620 cold treatments.

Permitting
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PPQ requires that importers apply for permits for the importation into the United States and transit 

through the United States of certain high-risk regulated plants and plant products for consumption or 

propagation. These products include regulated plants and plant products, pests, and pathogens for 

diagnostic and research, biological control agents, soil, and Federal noxious weeds. Permits notify 

importers of commodity import requirements to ensure products and commodities making entry into the 

United States will not harm American agriculture.

During FY 2022, PPQ issued 36,999 import permits for regulated plant material and issued 11,471

letters (Letters of Denial or Letters of No Jurisdiction) in response to permit application requests. In 

addition, to permits and permit-related correspondences, the Plant Protection and Quarantine Customer 

Support Center responded to 42,230 customer support calls and emails to assist stakeholders with import 

related questions.

PPQ continues to improve the customer experience through development and delivery of the new eFile 

permitting system. The new eFile system supports the implementation of automated permitting for more 

than 45 percent of all permit types and reduces the wait time for a permit to be issued to within minutes, 

as compared to 2-4 weeks using the current ePermits system.