United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Risk Management Document

Movement of Fresh Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.) 

Fruit from Puerto Rico into the Continental United States

January 10, 2011

Plant Health Programs (PHP)

Regulations, Permits and Manuals (RPM)

Contact Person: Phillip B. Grove
January 11, 2011

Introduction

Currently, movement of fresh rambutan fruit from Puerto Rico to the United States is not 

authorized by 7 CFR §318.13. A pathway-initiated pest risk assessment was prepared by APHIS 

Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) to identify the unmitigated pest risks associated with 

movement of fresh rambutan fruit from Puerto Rico into the continental United States (USDA, 

2008a).

The risk assessment identified the following five quarantine pests as having a medium

unmitigated risk potential:

Coccus moestus De Lotto - Hemiptera: Coccidae

Coccus viridis (Green) - Hemiptera: Coccidae

Dysmicoccus neobrevipes Beardsley - Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae

Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) - Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae

Planococcus minor (Maskell) - Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae

APHIS-PPQ pest risk assessment guidelines (USDA, 2000) suggest that for quarantine pests 

given an overall risk rating of high or medium, phytosanitary measures beyond standard port-ofentry inspection are recommended to mitigate pest risk. Quarantine pests given an overall rating 

of ‘low’ will not require specific mitigative measures beyond the port-of-entry inspection.

The movement of fresh rambutan fruit from Puerto Rico, if approved, would be regulated by 

amending the Puerto Rico Manual through a notice based process. Pest risk management is the 

process of identifying ways to react to a perceived risk, evaluating the efficacy of these actions, 

and identifying the most appropriate options (IPPC, 2004). This document outlines 

phytosanitary measures and provides evidence of their efficacy in preventing the introduction of 

quarantine pests. The appropriate level of protection may be achieved through the general 

requirements for the movement of regulated articles as described in 7 CFR 318.13-3 and certain 

designated measures described in 7 CFR 318.13-4. The general requirements provide for 

certification of regulated articles for movement when they have been inspected by APHIS and 

found apparently free from infestation and infection or without inspection when APHIS

determines that the consignment is of such a nature that no danger of infestation or infection is 

involved. In addition, the general requirements provide for the movement of regulated articles 

when phytosanitary and safeguarding requirements of a compliance agreement between the 

grower and APHIS have been met. The designated measures provide for movement after 

meeting certain requirements for pest-free-area growing, inspection and certification, treatment,

or production as a commercial consignment. 

Risk Management Measures for Puerto Rico Rambutan

The movement of rambutan fruit from Puerto Rico may only be allowed when the following risk 

management measures are met: 

 Rambutan fruit must be moved as commercial consignments as defined in 7 CFR 318.13-

2
January 11, 2011

 The consignment must be inspected and certified by APHIS as free from all quarantine 

pests including Coccus moestus, Coccus viridis, Dysmicoccus neobrevipes, 

Maconellicoccus hirsutus, and Planococcus minor.

 Shipping boxes must be labeled "Not for distribution in HI, VI, and Guam."

Consequences if actionable pests are found during inspection:

If an actionable quarantine pest is found during inspection by a USDA APHIS PPQ Officer, a

quarantine treatment approved by APHIS may be required. In the event that other types of pests 

are found (e.g., actionable internal feeders, hitchhikers, etc.) and treatments approved by APHIS 

for those pests are not applicable to rambutan, other applicable treatments may be selected in 

order to eliminate the identified pest risks. In some cases, this action may include damage to the 

rambutan fruit, possible rejection of the whole shipment, or canceling permits/ mitigation 

measures.

Efficacy of Risk Management Measures

Puerto Rico rambutan will be visually inspected by USDA APHIS PPQ Officers following predeparture guidelines to ensure pest freedom. A biometric sample of fruit will be inspected for all 

quarantine pests. 

Fruit exported to the United States must be commercially produced fruit. Commercially 

produced fruit undergoes a variety of good agricultural practices that ensure that it is less likely 

to have pests.

If infested fruit is rejected, trace back can be done by APHIS to identify and correct problems 

including removal of the place of production from the export program (Heather and Hallman, 

2008). Inspection ensures that all stages of any pest that are present in the commodity will be 

detected; this is particularly effective against those pests whose later life stages are larger and 

more readily detected (Borror et al., 1989). Regular inspections are recognized as part of a 

balanced pest management program (Kahn and Mathur, 1999).

Currently for importation of rambutan from Costa Rica, all that is required is a Phytosanitary 

Certificate with an additional declaration “Must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate 

issued by the Costa Rican department of agriculture stating that (1) the fruit is free from Coccus 

moestus, C. viridis, Dysmicoccus neobrevipes, Planococcus lilacinus, P. minor, and 

Pseudococcus landoi; and (2) all damaged fruit was removed from the consignment prior to 

export under the supervision of the Costa Rican department of agriculture. Shipping boxes must 

be labeled "Not for distribution in HI, PR, VI, and Guam." are the requirement for importation of 

rambutan from Central America and Mexico (USDA, 2011). The pest complex listed for 

rambutan in Costa Rica is the same as the pest complex for rambutan in Puerto Rico; therefore

the measures should be equivalent.

Summary
January 11, 2011

The risk management measures listed above will permit the movement of rambutan fruit from 

Puerto Rico while satisfying the appropriate level of phytosanitary protection for the United 

States. 

Author

Walter Gould, Senior Risk Manager

APHIS-PPQ

References

Borror, D. J., Triplehorn, C. A. and N. F. Johnson. 1989. Introduction to the study of insects, 6 

ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, TX.

Heather, N.W. and G.J. Hallman. 2008. Pest management and phytosanitary barriers. CABI 

publishing, Wallingford UK. 257 pp.

IPPC. 2002. The use of integrated measures in a systems approach for pest risk management. 

International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 14. Rome: Secretariat of the 

International Plant Protection Convention, United Nations Food and Agriculture 

Organization.

IPPC. 2004. Pest risk analysis for quarantine pests, including analysis of environmental risks and 

living modified organisms. International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 11. 

Rome: Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention, United Nations Food and 

Agriculture Organization.

Kahn and Mathur. 1999. Containment facilities and safeguards for exotic plant pathogens and 

pests. APS Press, St. Paul MN. 213pp.

USDA. 2000. Guidelines for Pathway-Initiated Pest Risk Assessments, Version 5.02. USDAAPHIS, PPQ; http://oars.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/pra/commodity/cpraguide.pdf

USDA. 2008a. Evidence-based, pathway-initiated pest risk analysis for the importation of fresh 

rambutan fruit (Nephelium lappaceum Linnaeus) from Puerto Rico into the continental 

United States. United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Raleigh, NC. 46 pp.

USDA. 2008b. Puerto Rico trip report by Joseph Corpuz, Dec. 10, 2008. United States 

Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and 

Quarantine, Raleigh, NC. 5 pp.

USDA. 2011. Fruit and Vegetable Import Requirements database. 

https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual/index.cfm?ACTION=pubHome Accessed Jan. 2011.