I don't need to remind you that we only have a few years to find and develop alternatives and have them approved by the importing country. Oak logs from the Appalachian region must be methyl bromide fumigated before export to Europe to kill the oak wilt organism. This is the same disease organism that I referred to earlier when I talked about almond plantings. This is a very important market for the United States, but is one of the largest postharvest users of methyl bromide. Grapes and stone fruit from Chile are examples of the many imports which would be impacted by an methyl bromide ban.
Chile is the main source of winter grapes and stone fruit for the United States.
Some 40 million, 40-pound boxes of grapes enter the United States from Chile each year. The U.S. requires that all be fumigated with methyl bromide to keep out a serious mite pest. Several million boxes of stone fruit from Chile are fumigated as well. There is presently no other effective treatment against this pest that guarantees exclusion from the United States. The foregoing examples serve to point out the scope and complexity of the problem.