Produce & perishables

APHIS writes the rule, CBP applies it at the dock

Every fruit and vegetable has an admissibility status that depends on the commodity, the origin and sometimes the growing region inside that origin. Some need a written import permit. Most need a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organisation of the exporting country. Many need a specified treatment before release. Those statuses change when a pest is found, and they change without much warning.

The people who open the carton are CBP agriculture specialists. APHIS writes the standard and CBP applies it, which means arguing at the port about a requirement APHIS changed last month is not a plan. We confirm current entry status by commodity and origin before the goods load, and we say so plainly if the answer is that this lot cannot come in at all.

Treatment is where the shelf life goes

Cold treatment can run in transit, under seal, with calibrated probes placed and certified at loading, in which case the clock is already spent when the vessel arrives. Run instead at an approved facility after arrival, the same treatment costs days the fruit does not have. Methyl bromide fumigation adds the treatment plus aeration and a move to an approved site, and some commodities are visibly damaged by it. Irradiation is usually done at origin under a pre-clearance programme.

If CBP intercepts an actionable pest, the choices narrow to treatment, re-export or destruction, and the decision has to be made in hours, not on Monday. We make that call with you the same day, with the cost of each option written down rather than described.

It is food as well as a plant

Every produce entry needs FDA Prior Notice before arrival, and the confirmation number goes on the entry. The importer named as the FSVP importer has to be identified with a DUNS number that FDA can resolve, and has to have a verification programme behind that claim. Fresh produce also draws attention under the produce safety rule, particularly on commodities with a history of outbreaks. We file the Prior Notice as part of the entry, not as a separate errand. How Prior Notice timing works is worth ten minutes if you are new to this.

Marketing orders, and the inspection nobody expects

Under Section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act, imports of certain commodities must meet the same grade, size, quality and maturity requirements that apply to the domestic crop under its marketing order. Tomatoes, avocados, onions, potatoes, table grapes, oranges, grapefruit, olives, dates, raisins, walnuts, hazelnuts and kiwifruit are on that list, among others. A USDA inspection certificate is required before the goods can be released. Separately, if you trade fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables in commercial volume, you probably need a PACA licence. Neither is a customs requirement, and both will stop a customs release.

Duty moves with the calendar

A large number of Chapter 07 and 08 lines carry different rates depending on when the goods are entered. The same tomatoes are dutiable at one rate in March and another in August, and the date that counts is the date of entry, not the date of shipment. Trade agreement claims flatten a lot of this for goods that genuinely qualify, but only when the certification of origin is on file before we file, not produced afterwards.

Trade remedy exposure is real here too. Fresh tomatoes from Mexico returned to an antidumping order in 2025 when the suspension agreement that had governed that trade was terminated, and importers who had never posted a cash deposit suddenly had to. On top of all of it sit the emergency authority tariff programmes introduced since 2025, which have been amended repeatedly. We check the Chapter 99 position per line at the time of filing rather than repeating last month's rate.

How we work a perishable entry

• ISF goes in 24 hours before lading, and the entry goes in days before arrival, so the release decision is already made when the box comes off.
• Where an exam or a treatment is likely, we book it against the expected discharge rather than waiting for the hold notice.
• If the port is congested, an in-bond move to a facility nearer your cold storage is often cheaper than the demurrage. See demurrage and detention.
• You hear about a hold from us. Terminals report what happened to the box, not why CBP or APHIS is holding it.

What we need from you

1. A signed customs power of attorney and an adequate bond.
2. Commercial invoice and packing list with commodity, variety, growing region, pack size, count and net weight.
3. The phytosanitary certificate, and the APHIS permit number where one applies.
4. Treatment certificates: cold treatment records, fumigation certificate or irradiation certificate as applicable.
5. Your FSVP importer details and DUNS number.
6. A trade agreement certification of origin if you intend to claim one.