Phytosanitary Certificates Now Easier to Process in Mexico

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO -- After months of discussion between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s APHIS (Animal Plant Health Inspection Service) and Mexico’s SENASICA (National Service of Health, Food Safety, and Quality), Mexico has accepted electronic or digitally endorsed signatures on phytosanitary certificates for all goods, including rice.

“We’re pleased to see that our two governments are looking for ways to make trade easier, particularly in the COVID-19 environment where acquiring in-person signatures can sometimes be challenging,” said Todd Burich, chair of the USA Rice Western Hemisphere Trade Policy Subcommittee.

Mexico is the United States’ second largest agricultural export market and rice’s top market, purchasing more than 600,000 MT of U.S. rice in 2020, valued at $245 million.  Nearly every day of the year, U.S. rice is entering the Mexican market.